Last Heir to the Throne of Seals
by BeniKaze
Summary: As Kushina died, he was given one last mission. Now, the last royal guard of the Uzukage will have to train Naruto from the ground up. He must teach Naruto how to defend himself, teach him the history of his people and help him rebuild a long dead bloodline. However, will Naruto help rebuild his mother's country or walk down his own path of life? NarutoX? I own nothing
1. Chapter 1

**First off, the OC Gale Uzumaki is property of Lockdown00, who gave me the idea for this story. Just a quick AN, I am aiming to have an actual long lasting team seven here so no bashing if you please. I think if things worked out better and they all relied on one another they could have lasted. Sakura is supposed to know a lot so her books smarts will help, Sasuke is very good adapting and has shown to work with Naruto well to get a plan across. Naruto in this will work well with Sasuke and Sakura but he will develop differently from canon as you can tell. We'll see together how this unfolds, so let's get this party started!**

 **This chapter, along with chapter two has been edited, this one less than chapter two which had taken a few drastic changes towards the middle and end. Sorry for the late change but I planned to do that first before continuing with a third chapter.**

Key:

"Naruto"-speaking of humans and demons in human form

 _'Naruto'-_ thoughts of humans and demons in human form

" **Naruto"** -demon/sentient talking in demon form

' _ **Naruto'**_ -demon/sentient thinking in demon form

 _"_ _ **Naruto"**_ _-_ anyone speaking through mental link

' _Fear. That is what we live with. And we live it every day. Only in death are we free of it'_ – Neji Hyuuga

Chapter 1

Ten year old Naruto stared at his paper, he could clearly read the grade. He got nothing right to the extent he wasn't allowed to take the second portion.

' _H-how? I studied the entire week! I looked through books Jiji gave me! He wouldn't steer me wrong but why was every question so advanced!? The books never went over what to do when faced with a chakra sealing tag on you, surrounded by a squad of ninja and all of your team was injured. I….I…..maybe…..I'm just stupid…..I told Jiji I'd talk to him after this. Maybe he'll know what to do'_ thought Naruto. He stood, folding the paper up and pocketed it before leaving the academy. The walk was short, the academy was just within throwing distance of the kage tower. Naruto passed by everyone there like a ghost, they never bothered him. He knew they saw him but made no move to converse with him, they had their own work to attend to after all and he had nothing to do with it. Naruto slowly opened the door and walked in, instantly he noticed the new figure in the room.

' _Never seen him before'_ thought Naruto as he examined the man. He was pretty tall, standing around 6'1" with shoulder length red hair and his build wasn't overly muscular, thin but powerful. He looked kind of old, late 40's if Naruto was to guess. His attire was certainly something Naruto hadn't seen in person before, only in those old history books. The older red head had on black pants, a black long sleeved shirt, closed toed black combat boots and over all of it was the original style red shinobi armor. Metal plated, multi layered and strung together with red string. On his back was a sword that looked nothing like a katana, a solid gold hilt with a small cross object sticking out of the end. The scabbard was totally white, even Naruto could feel the power that sword radiated.

"Is jiji here?" asked Naruto before the hokage stood from the turned chair and walked up to Naruto.

"What is it Naruto? Did something happen?" asked the hokage.

"I…uh….failed the test" said Naruto, handing him the test paper he wasn't supposed to take.

The kage looked over it and frowned "It seems we'll be going with your plan after all Gale." Naruto looked to the man who smiled briefly and nodded his head to Naruto who just waved in response.

"Thank you, Hiruzen. I know my reputation with everyone else is ugly but taking out of the blue instead of this manner with him of all people would make things complicated for the both of us" said Gale.

"Naruto, forget about this test" said his jiji, letting the paper burn in his hand as he stood up from his kneeled position.

"Would you mind going on a travel or sorts? This is an old friend of mine, Gale Uzumaki. He offered to train you, of course, while traveling for a while. You will come back and go through the last year of the academy, you can't skip that, but I will allow this trip."

Naruto didn't hesitate in his answer "Yes, I'd love to go! I'd get to see so many cool things! We can see the ocean, or that place full of sand, and the cloud place, maybe that place in the rocks or-"

"Haha, we'll get to what we can but we will be training. This isn't a run around the world here" said Gale in a gruff voice.

Naruto nodded his head excitedly "I know! We can just run really fast from place to place!" Gale let out a loud chuckle at that one, partially because he was pretty sure Naruto's definition of fast and how fast he could actually run were far off.

"We'll try to, promise." Gale have him a thumbs up and Naruto smiled back.

"You'll need to buy him clothes through the time you're gone so I'll send some money at different times. Do you need anything else besides that?"

"Just make sure your hunter nin stay off my back and we'll be golden" said Gale and the kage nodded his head, sitting back down.

"You know he'll send men after you, to take him and to kill you. Also, red clouds roam freely but some run closer to home than others. Now go, _he_ is at his meeting now so you'll have more time to gain some distance before men are sent. Good luck, let me know if you need assistance" said the Sandaime Hokage.

Gale nodded his head "I will keep him safe, you have my word. Naruto, are you ready to go?"

Naruto nodded his head excitedly "Then jump on my shoulders, we need to get going quick." Naruto wasted no time, in less than a few seconds he was clinging to the man's back.

"Let's go mister!" shouted Naruto, holding his hand in the air. Gale chuckled then jumped out the window, landing softly on the ground before he froze. His leg muscles tensed then he took off, going faster than Naruto thought possible and he was enjoying it. Everything around him was a blur, people and buildings passed by faster than Naruto could recognize them. Before he knew it they had made it past the front gate and down the main road, still moving at break neck pace. It was nearly a whole two hours of this insane speed until Gale slowed down to a walk. What shocked Naruto was he was barely even breathing heavy.

"Wow, your super duper fast!" shouted Naruto and Gale chuckled.

"I have to be, I can't use chakra to enhance my movements" said Gale.

"What? Why not? I can use chakra but not well at all" said Naruto.

"I lost the use of chakra during the second shinobi war, I barely participated in the third because I was still recovering. I've learned many different ways to live without it, I've built a new fighting style, built my body and my mind to keep up with those who can use it. It does hinder some aspects, but it helped me better myself at the same time" said Gale.

"Wow, that's cool! You're amazing!" said Naruto in awe.

"Well thank you, that's very kind of you. Now, we'll be entering a small trading town just up head. I'll let you down but stay close to me, don't leave my side. Understand?" asked Gale, showing a much more serious and strict side of him Naruto had yet to see. However, the boy was undeterred by the quick change and knew he was just being protective.

"Don't worry, I will!" said Naruto who jumped down and walked next to Gale as they neared a small trading town. It wasn't anything special in Naruto's eyes, around a dozen small houses, only half of them actually looked like stores. Gale kept silent as they entered and walked into a small two-story building with a kunai and shuriken symbol sign above the door.

"Welcome to Zaki's weapons and apparel. How can I- Gale! Long time no see! Who's the runt with you?" asked a man near the counter. He looked…really like so many others around Konoha. Short brown hair, brown eyes, tan skin, around 5'10" but what set him apart was the large scar running from his jaw to his forehead.

"Just passing through here, I needed to pick this kid up for someone. I'm showing him the ropes, getting him some hands-on experience and training before taking him back" said Gale. He couldn't reveal too much, not because he didn't trust Zaki but because he didn't want Naruto to hear that.

"Gotcha pal, say no more. I take it you're here for some supplies and clothes then? He doesn't look like he packed for anything unless he's all sealed up like you."

Gale nodded his head "Just getting him some basic gear and a new set of clothes for now. Naruto, pick out some clothes you like and get a few pairs of them." Naruto smiled brightly and nodded his head before running to the clothes and rummaging around for something he liked.

"I'll need about a dozen kunai and shuriken for now, just to get him started" said Gale.

"I've already got a scroll ready with that, it's a common order after all. Now, be straight with me, how did you get him out of the village? You and I both know who he is, hell, who is parent's were" said Zaki, leaning closer to Gale who sighed.

"He apparently failed the exam, not on his own folly but because…well, you know" Zaki nodded his head in understanding "I was already asking to train him when he got out of school and maybe take him to Suna and back. Once he failed the Sandaime figured it was best to let me take him for two years, train him with no outside intervention of the villagers. It would be dangerous but the Hokage agreed pay off hunter nin the village had sent out and try to desists Suna's using their shaky treaty."

"You still have Iwa, Kumo and Kiri to deal with" said Zaki.

"Iwa doesn't bother with me anymore, Kumo will send the occasional scout party to see if I've weakened but they've never attacked me. Kiri is in a civil war, every capable ninja is on one side or the other. Iwa may send some once in a blue moon but they mostly send cannon fodder to do what Kumo does" said Gale before he turned to see Naruto in new clothes while he set a few pairs down. The ones he had on weren't special, a plain black t-shirt with the kanji for strength on the back '力', some dark grey pants, a pair of black ninja sandals, a pair of black gloves and a white jacket. The rest was just the same thing in varying colors for different locations and situations.

"What's the gloves and jacket for?" asked Zaki. It wasn't cold by any means here, only at night did it get cold enough to even think about putting a long sleeves shirt on.

"If we go somewhere cold I'll need these but for now I can put them in a back pack" said Naruto and Zaki smiled.

"You're a smart kid, planning ahead like that" said Zaki, laughing at the end.

"How much?" asked Gale.

"24,556.60 yen($200)" said Zaki and Gale handed him some bills before Zaki handed him back .40 yen in difference along with a leather canvas sailor bag.

"Someone bartered me this a few days ago but I have no use for it and I don't think I'll have a sailor coming by to get one. You'll put it to good use kid" said Zaki.

Naruto smiled even wider "Thanks! This is awesome! I've never had a backpack before!" Zaki smiled back as he watched Naruto stuff the single strap backpack. Once he finished Naruto with the clothes on the counter Naruto stuffed the jacket and gloves inside before throwing it over his shoulder.

"Ready?" asked Gale and the young boy responded with a nod of his head.

"See you later Zaki" said Gale, tossing Naruto on his back.

"See you soon" said Zaki, waving back to Naruto as he left the shop.

Once the door closed Zaki spoke "Now, what do you need miss?"

An anbu appeared from the shadow's near the door "The same thing he got but some more gear please. A demon windmill shuriken, ninja wire, blank scrolls, the works."

"Figured so" said Zaki before he began to rummage through a box of scrolls.

With Gale- four hours later on the edge of Konoha and Ame

"We'll go through a small country to get to Suna then to Iwa and finally Kumo all while traveling through some smaller countries" said Gale, pointing out the route with a map.

"Oh, Suna had all that sand doesn't it?" asked Naruto and Gale nodded his head.

"It does, do you know what Ame has?"

"Tons of rain, some places its year round!" said Naruto excitedly and Gale nodded his head.

"Good job, now how well can you throw kunai and shuriken?" asked Gale.

"I can do really good with shuriken but I'm terrible with kunai" said Naruto as Gale got up and carved a center point target into a tree with his kunai. He walked back to Naruto and unsealed the dozen kunai he bought and handed Naruto one.

"How'd you do that?" asked Naruto.

"Well, usually you channel chakra to unseal them. I made a seal that takes my focus and allows me to unseal things without chakra. It basically takes the already present nature energy that is applied subconsciously to chakra and transfers it to chakra to unseal things" said Gale. Surprisingly Naruto nodded his head in understanding.

"You're super smart" was all Naruto said.

Gale stood and smiled a bit "Thank you, now let's down to business. Throw a kunai at the tree, I want to see your form and how far off you are." Naruto did just that, he threw it perfectly, it hit the target dead on but didn't stick.

"See! I can't ever get it to stick! I practiced and practiced but it never stays on the target" said Naruto.

"Do you use all your power when you swing you arm?"

"The instructor said to just swing my arm cause I don't need to rely on strength to get me through everything."

Gale sighed "Of course he did. Listen, you have to put power behind your throw or you're just swinging your arm around. Try that this time around." Naruto grabbed another kunai and added his power behind it, the projectile flew faster than ever and slammed into the tree but just hitting the outside ring of the target.

"Not bad, you'll have to practice using your strength to get your accuracy back." Gale stood patiently, watching as Naruto practiced, he had gotten closer and closer, the last two Naruto threw neared the center.

"Last one, I'll make it count" said Naruto before he threw it. It sailed through the air but it never even hit the target it ricochet off another kunai that landed dead center on the target. Quicker than Naruto expected Gale was beside him as four figures fell from the trees, two men and two women. They all wore simple garb, brown t-shirt and pants and black ninja sandals with a short sword.

"Gale Uzumaki, strongest, and last of the Uzukage royal guard, left to tend to children" said a man that stood around ten feet away from Gale.

"No one lives forever, you have to pass down what you know" said Gale, keeping his cool as they made a semi-circle around them.

"Hahahaha that's rich coming from you! You've slaughtered quite a few his age, did you plan to teach him about that? All that killing you did to avenge the men and women of Uzushiogakure those villages slaughtered? Even your precious Uzukage fell, sending you away in his last moments to protect the heiress. She's probably dead to if you're watching this little snot, so what's left? Gonna try to fix your life for the better after all that? Not happening, you're the 'bane of the elemental nations' for what you've done. Nearly every kage would be pleased to see your head on a pike! I think I'll kill you, then kill that kid like you did those othe-" The man spoke no more, he couldn't now that his windpipe was crushed in Gale's hand. The man's calm demeanor never changed as his opponent fell to the ground, gasping for the air he would never again receive.

In the split second that happened one female shot off like a rocket, intent on slicing his head clean off. She would have easily done so if her wrist wasn't caught in Gale's own hand. Kai was dead, May could only watch her husband fall before she charged the man. Now, up close she didn't fear his demeanor but the way he never even looked up from Kai to stop her hand.

"He must have been someone close, brother, husband" Gale felt more force from the woman "Husband it is. Sad, you chose the wrong day to attack me." May let out a gasp when her wrist was cut off by Gale's kunai but she made no screaming noise when his kunai was shoved into her jaw and through her brain. Gale kept moving, holding the wrist of the woman tightly he threw it at the other man who sloppily deflected it before Gale shoved Kai's sword threw his heart. The Uzumaki let the man fall to the ground and turned to see the last woman laying flat on the ground, a konoha anbu standing from her now lifeless body.

Naruto's voice broke the silence "Ah….who's the lady?"

"Neko, I was your former protector before you left the village. I was tasked with making sure you were safe within the border of the land of fire" said the woman.

"I'm sorry you had to see that" said Gale, wiping his hands off with a rag and throwing it on the ground.

"I've seen it before" said Naruto, causing both Gale and Neko to pause.

"Where?" asked Neko. _'Has he already ventured outside when no one watched him?'_ was her thought.

"I lived in the red light district, it wasn't common but I know not to go out at night. Maki and Soba told me that after I watched their friend got stabbed by a group of guys. I haven't seen them after they told me to go home" said Naruto.

"Maki and Soba?" asked Gale.

"They used to watch over me sometimes, I'd let them sleep in my house and no one ever banged on my door or messed with my walls. Then, when they walked me around to get food their friend got beat up and stabbed over and over. Maki, she got really pissed and started fighting the guys then Soba jumped in and told me to go straight home. That was just last week, they'll probably wonder where I'm at so can you tell them for me Neko?"

"What do they look like?"

"Maki's really pretty, nice blonde hair, green eyes, kinda skinny, wears a white shirt and brown skirt with some black shoes. Soba's got short black hair and he's really big, he usually has a black button up shirt and white shorts with some sandals on. Just let them know I'll be back in a few years and they can use my apartment while I'm gone" said Naruto.

Neko nodded her head "No worries, I'll let them know. I'll clean this up, you guys go on ahead. Take this to, I bought some more supplies for you Naruto." The woman handed him a small scroll Naruto took and stuffed in his backpack before hugging her.

"Thanks for watching me Neko-chan! I'll see you when I get back all big and strong!" Yugao smiled behind her mask and kneeled down to hug him back before they separated.

"Stay safe" said the woman and Naruto nodded his head then jumped on Gale's back.

"Thank you, Neko. I'll find a way to thank you properly later" said Gale before he took off at speeds Neko was certainly impressed at.

"I could say the same thing" said Neko before she shot a flare up to call her team.

* * *

One day later, in a small village just near the desert

"Are we going into the desert?" asked Naruto while he tried to walk up a tree using chakra like Gale said.

"Just a bit, so you can see it. After that we'll move to Grass country then briefly to Iwa before going to Waterfall" said Gale.

"Oh, so it's like a snake movement around the nation" said Naruto and Gale nodded his head.

"This way you'll get to see more of the nation" said Gale before Naruto ran up the tree again. This time he made it half way up before he slid back down.

"Walk up it, practice keeping a constant feel before you run" said Gale. Naruto slowly got back up and placed one foot then the other, this time he made it to the top of the tree before he walked back down.

"See? You kept running and didn't have enough practice finding the perfect balance. Now, try running up the tree" said the man. Naruto took off at a fast pace, running up the tree, tapping the top with his finger then running back down before slowing to a walk as he neared a branch and sat down.

"That….was…..awesome" said Naruto, already exhausted from using the small amount of chakra he had in his reserves.

"Practice makes perfect, let's take a break and you can try again tomorrow. We'll head out once you can jump from tree to tree" said Gale. Naruto nodded his head and jumped down then followed Gale to the inn room he was renting.

"What are you gonna teach me after that?" asked Naruto.

"First, it's academy stuff, the basics of fighting and all. After that we can find your affinity, learn a few small jutsu and teach you how to use a weapon of your choice" said Gale as he laid down on his bed, right next to Naruto's.

"Awesome" said the young Uzumaki tiredly before he was out like a light.

' _Kushina-sama, I promised I would watch over him. I've finished the training I needed to do so I could ensure his safety, now I will watch over him. As long as I stand he will not fall, until my last breath, as I promised you'_ thought Gale before he too succumbed to sleep.

* * *

Naruto's Mindscape

Naruto opened his eyes and immediately noticed the change in surroundings. He assumed he was now in some dark room, extremely large seeing as he couldn't find a wall. The only thing he noticed was the cage in front of him, a tag on the gate that held it closed with the kanji for seal on it. Then Naruto felt the entire room rumble as the other side of the cage lit up, revealing what the cage held. The Nine Tailed fox, it…..was alive.

" **Well hello, tiny human. What brings you all the way in the back corner of your mind?"** asked the fox, keeping its head on its paws.

"I….uh….just appeared here" said Naruto, trying not to stutter.

" **I see, so your mind decided it best to see me then. How interesting, the human subconscious is an astounding piece of work. Now, I guess some introductions are in order. I am the great Kyuubi No Kistune, or"** the fox glowed bright red and shifted, shrinking down to the size of an adult female "You may also call me Hitome." Naruto never expected this, first off, meeting and seeing the Kyuubi but now SHE turned into a human, of sorts. She had a female human shape, blood red hair that reached the small of her back and creamy white skin then some….extra features. Nine long tails flowed behind her, a set of ear stood atop her head, her smirk showed off her elongated canine teeth and her blood red eyes had cat like slit pupils. All in all, she still resembled the form she was in previously, but now she was just more human. **(This is my first time giving female Kyuubi a tail and ears so bear with me here. She will explain as to why she kept the tail and ears and it seems like something she would do, as the strongest of the nine bijuu and a very prideful being in the manga and anime.)**

"W…wow…You-I didn't expect that! Why do you have tails and ears like a fox though?" asked Naruto.

"As beings of chakra we can alter our appearances at will but all of us usually stay in our original form. I keep my tails and ears because I am who I am, the Kyuubi No Kistune, and I am not going to hide that in any form. If someone wishes to complain they may after they've beaten me in battle, nothing more, nothing less. I am a proud being, I will not put away that of which shows my identity" said Hitome.

"I understand, you're really strong, well, confident I guess. I try to be when I can" said Naruto and Hitome's smirk shifted to a small smile.

"You can be, just be proud of who you are. You are Uzumaki Naruto, no one can change that. You may be my container but that is also who you are, embrace it, I will be here to help you do so but only if you can withstand the power I give you."

"Withstand? You're a sweet lady, what's there to withstand about you?" asked Naruto.

"You are an adorable child, but I mean my power. The power I have is strong but poisonous to humans, you are immune to it in small portions, like for healing but not large portions. It can damage your body physically but the larger the portion the harder it is to control without proper training and mental stability" said Hitome.

"Oh, ok….I think" said Naruto laughing a bit and Hitome laughed back.

"Oh, earlier you said this was my mind right?" asked Naruto and Hitome nodded her head.

"Then I should be able to do this" said Naruto and the world around them began to warp, bending and shifting to Naruto's will before settling down. What Hitome saw now astounded her, a being centuries old. She now sat in front of a low wooden table, inside a small two story traditional wooden house. A couch to her left, a plush chair behind her and in front of her. Behind the chair to her back was a large, fully stocked kitchen, to the left of the kitchen was the stairs leading to the second story. Up there she saw a single bedroom with a king sized mattress, already fitted with red sheets on a chestnut frame. In that room was a door that led to the large bathroom filled with any essentials.

Hitome walked down stairs and slid the door open to the back yard, seeing a full garden. A large assortment of flowers a small river flowed around the house and a stream was cut off that went through the garden. A tiny red bridge led over the stream in the garden and to a cherry blossom tree that was in full bloom. The bijuu closed that door and opened the front door to, greeted by a large field. She took a step out and noticed it was thick, but extremely soft **(Look up Bermuda grass).** Just a ways off from the house was a large pecan tree, also in full bloom. Looking to her right was a large lake, where the river had originated from she assumed. To her left was a massive forest, filled with towering redwood trees she'd only seen once before.

"I saw those tree's in an old book jiji gave me" said Naruto, somehow right next to her.

"How did you know to make all this?" asked Hitome.

"Well, if it's your mind then you just use your imagination. I imagined the perfect house I wanted, something jiji helped me draw a few months ago. It had that layout, a garden with a river, a lake nearby, a pecan tree outside with a big forest next to the large field. It's all just like the drawing he made with me" said Naruto, looking around at his handy work before turning to her.

"This is my dream but is it something you like?"

"Of course, it's beautiful" said Hitome and Naruto smiled before his body began to fade.

"It seems your body is waking up, I guess I should tell you this now. All the power I'm giving you for now is to heal yourself, nothing more until I feel you're ready to handle it. Once you are we'll go over how you can access it and what you can do with it" said Hitome.

"No problem! Have fun in here!" said Naruto, as he waved. Hitome smiled and waved back before he disappeared then she sighed and looked to the sky.

"He's just like I imagined, a mix of Kushina and Minato" said the woman, letting her mind wander before she stood abruptly.

"Alright, time to make some food. I wonder if I even need to, not needing to eat and all. Whatever, sweets still taste good" said Hitome, walking inside to the kitchen.

* * *

Gale's Minscape

"Do you think it's the right thing to do?" asked Gale. He sat alone on a tatami mat in the middle of a well light area. However, the shadows shifted and the walls fell, revealing a large green dragon curled up around him. **(Chinese style, think avatar the last air bender for a moving example.)**

" **I think teaching the boy what you know to protect himself is a good idea. The traveling part is a bit daring but it will open his eyes to the world around him"** said the dragon.

"I hope it is the right thing Shi, I can't fail the clan anymore."

" **You've never failed them, you were told by those who you took orders from. The Uzukage told you to leave to protect the heiress, Miss Kushina. She told you to stay out of the fight and watch over Naruto after you completed your training. Now, you can do your job as you were instructed"** said Shi.

"Thank you, old friend. I may need assistance if we have to quell the Kyuubi in his mindscape" said Gale.

" **I will always be here, just say the word and I'll step in."**

* * *

Six months later

"I can't believe we had to stay hidden in the land of mountains for two months cause of those hunter ninja! We couldn't even go to Grass country cause you just had to go to the land of mountains first" said Naruto.

"You still got to train, didn't you?" asked Gale.

"I did but only in weapons and your Mui Thai style. I did want to learn some jutsu to."

"We will, after we buy some chakra paper. After we make a stop with the priestess of Demon country we'll move across Iwa and to the Land of Iron to get you a sword."

"Woah! Awesome!" shouted Naruto, pumping his fists in the air.

"It's just a half mile till we reach the priestess's temple, I want you to walk on your hands the entire way" said Gale. Enthusiastically, Naruto flipped onto his hands and began to keep pace with Gale at a leisure pace but as they neared the gates Gale had to slow down quite a bit to keep pace with Naruto. The second Naruto placed his hands past the gate he flipped on his legs and stood slowly.

"I…..can't….feel….my arms" wheezed Naruto.

"The blood will flow back in a minute, just follow me" said Gale. Naruto did just that, keeping behind Gale as he led them around the compound, all the guard either waving or ignoring him.

"How come they don't bother you?" asked Naruto, trying to ignore the pain in his nearly limp arms.

"I used to guard her long ago, they know me well" said Gale before he slid open a door and let Naruto walk in before closing the door behind him. Gale immediately bowed, Naruto followed suit soon after before the both raised their head and Naruto got a lay of the room. On an elegant mat was a long brown haired woman, she looked very calm, her light purple eyes reflected only kindness as what Naruto assumed to be her child played nearby. The young girl looked around his age, her blond hair and waved around as she looked at him with the same purple eyes as her mother.

"Well hello once more Gale, it's been some time" said the woman.

"Apologies, Miroku. I have been very busy since the day I left you. Have you been holding well?" asked Gale.

"I have been, however, I fear what lies on the horizon" said Miroku.

"Do you need my assistance?" asked Gale.

"No, this is a matter you have no use in. It is a matter a priestess must take care of, however, I may need you to make sure my child stay safe."

Gale now knew what she may have to do "Of course, I will visit as often as I can. We were only passing through to check on you and your daughter. How is she?"

"Shion, are you feeling well?" Miroku said. The blonde girl stopped playing with her toys and walked up to her mother.

"Yes ma'am! Who are those people?"

"Friends of mine, they came to say hi" said Miroku to Shion. The young girl turned to the two and examined them before waving and walking back to her toys.

"She seems very healthy, but does she know of her duties?"

Naruto noticed the brief frown on Miroku's face "No, I don't want her to if she doesn't need to. I will take care of things myself for now, do not mention anything to her."

Gale nodded his head "Yes ma'am."

"Now, before you go. Is that boy who I think it is?"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, ma'am" said Naruto, bowing.

"My my, very well mannered" said Miroku with a small laugh.

"You've got pretty eyes" said Shion from her position by her toys.

"Thanks, you too" said Naruto, not sure what else to say to her. He felt awkward, the seal on him felt all weird too and his chakra was stirring a bit.

"Well, we do need to be going. We are a bit behind schedule, is there a date you need me to return?" asked Gale as he let Naruto walk out.

"You will know when you must return" said Miroku with a sad smile.

"Yes ma'am, take care."

"You too Gale, watch over the child well" and with her last words Gale closed the door before leaving the compound.

"Lady Miroku, we are detecting activity again within the shrine" said a guard from behind the door.

"Ignore it, the demon only wishes to attract me. Let me know when anything seems off in the seal" said Miroku, looking to Shion. _'I'm sorry dear, I won't be here much longer. Just know, mother loves you and she always will.'_

With Gale and Naruto

"Now what? Run through Iwa as fast as possible?" asked Naruto.

"No, we have to take our time. Keep our tracks covered, and keep a low profile. It's a large nation but we'll pass near the main village to get to the land of Iron. They'll have chakra paper at a town we'll pass through so we can test your affinity and get you some scrolls to start your nature manipulation. Sound good?"

"That sounds amazing! I can't wait!" shouted Naruto in anticipation.

 **Well, that's chapter one of Uzushigakure's last heir. Review, tell me how it was a such. The next chapter will go through bits of the trip and maybe finish out Naruto's last year at the academy. See ya later!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Long time no see, sorry I've been neglecting this story but I finally got this edited right and it's ready for me to start another chapter. I have done quite a bit of editing with the removal of a character and Sasuke's interaction with Naruto and Sakura. More details are given at the bottom. Another main note is Gale is not a main character, he is a sensei, and isn't directly tied to everything the way people like Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and others would be. He is a pivot point at times, and will be a major character later but he takes a backseat before the canon time skip. Thanks for reading and enjoy!**

Key:

"Naruto"-speaking of humans and demons in human form

 _'Naruto'-_ thoughts of humans and demons in human form

" **Naruto"** -demon/sentient talking in demon form

' _ **Naruto'**_ -demon/sentient thinking in demon form

 _"_ _ **Naruto"**_ _-_ anyone speaking through mental link

' _I would rather die a meaningful death than to live a meaningless life'_ – Corazon Aquino

Chapter 2

Gale watched in surprise, the boy had taken to nearly two separate challenges at once and easily crushed them both. One was the shadow clone, a jutsu created by the Shodai Hokage with the help of Mito Uzumaki. Gale knew it, as did many other Uzumaki. He had expected Naruto to produce at least one clone, any Uzumaki had abundance in chakra after all, but three was stellar. The boy had never perfectly done a jutsu in his life until then, the tree and water exercise didn't fully count as jutsu to Gale. Afterwards, Naruto had done well with using chakra paper Gale had bought from the nearby town to find his two elements, wind and water.

"What does it mean when the papers a little wet and it's cut?" asked Naruto.

"You have two strong elements, wind and water. Usually, the second is hard to find out about until your later years but with a high affinity for a second element will show at an early stage. We'll start with wind then move to water once were not in such a hot environment. Take this paper and cry to cut it in half only using chakra" said Gale, handing Naruto a piece of paper then handing a piece to the three clones.

"Clasp your hand around it, focus on it as hard as you can while adding chakra and try to use that to cut the leaf. Since this isn't chakra conductive you'll have to put a lot more focus and effort into it" said Gale. Once each clone was set up he walked back to the large rock nearby and leaned on it before pulling a small book out. The book looked like nothing special, a normal brown book bound in leather and such. However, inside was notes and such of intricate seals which the likes of Jiraiya wished he could see a tidbit of. They were seals akin to what sealed the bijuu into Mito and Kushina, seals that Gale knew still held strong in the ruins of his home. He needed to understand them, fully grasp every piece before he returned with the new ruler. It was his job as the head of the guards to bypass the seals set by the previous kage. An odd way to show the guard was capable enough to learn the most advanced seals created and prove his worth as the protector of the kage of Uzushiogakure.

"Done!" shouted a clone before it dispelled, giving Naruto all the memory of the clone. He clasps his hands together and focus as the clone did, applied the same amount of focus and chakra before removing his hands to see his own paper split as well.

"Now what?" asked Naruto before he noticed Gale was not holding his book, his dusty brown cloak and straw hat were back on.

"Get your cloak out I got you, throw some sand on your face and clothes. Look like a traveler, my seals went off. Four people around anbu level just got into town" said Gale, sliding his sword from his back to his side. It didn't sit correctly with his cloak on, and made it much more obvious. His cloak had a few minor seals like Naruto's which concealed ones presence, including the aura his sword emitted. Naruto followed orders quickly, dusting himself up, putting his cloak on and running around a bit so he looked exhausted from a long trek.

"Stay close and don't say a word to anyone" said Gale who didn't receive a response.

' _I'm glad Mito helped me transfer my own nature energy to chakra all those years ago or I'd never know these guys were here. Why would a squad of anbu level ninja be all the way out here? Their route doesn't expand to this town, only one a few dozen miles closer to the main village'_ thought Gale as they walked through the somewhat empty town. It was mainly a pass through town, a few small shops, an Inn, a bar, a holy shop and a house for the mayor. As they passed by Naruto stopped and tugged on Gale's cloak, motioning to the holy shop.

"What is it? Do you feel something?" asked Gale, curious of his 'condition' getting agitated to such objects.

"I wanna go in there, the one in the village never let me go by it" said Naruto. Gale wanted to say no but then realized it wasn't half bad of a place to hide for a minute. The anbu would never suspect someone like him to be perusing through a holy shop filled with all those artifacts and books. Gale let Naruto lead the way in and closed the door behind them, a small seal appearing near the door to act as a sensory field to the outside if the anbu walked by.

As quickly as the seal appeared it faded away and a rather young red haired woman walked out from the back and up to Gale, Naruto was already looking through the glass cases at all the trinkets and such.

"Can I-Oh my! Are you a messenger?" asked the woman, looking directly at the sword hidden by his cloak and bowing her head.

Gale put a finger to his lips "It was a gift, I am no angel so please raise your head."

The woman leaned close and whispered "Sir, that sword is not given away as a gift or conversational piece. It is handed from an angel of the heavens to ones who are worthy of its power. What is one of your stature doing in my shop?"

"The boy wanted to browse, he hasn't been in a holy store before" said Gale as the woman looked at the boy and frowned.

"He must suffer severe prejudice with such a heavy burden he holds. Does the boy even know?" asked the woman. Gale knew she could sense the bijuu, such demonic energy would never go unnoticed by someone so closely tied to the spiritual side of life.

"Yes, he's aware. To what extent I don't know but he does know of its existence" said Gale before Naruto turned to them, holding a book and a small chain necklace with a crescent moon hanging from it.

"Can I get this? It's really cool, watch" said Naruto before he channeled chakra through the necklace and suddenly a second hand moved from his own and began to play with a second necklace. The boy rolled both wrists around before the fused back together and he smiled at Gale who looked at the woman for an explanation.

"Astounding! You've already been favored by a god!" said the woman.

"What? How?" asked Naruto.

"Every now and again people are favored by gods and goddess for differing reasons. You may have been born under a full moon or possibly near a genjutsu user. The moon goddess Tsukuyomi blesses anyone born under a full moon and in some cases children born under proficient genjutsu users since she is also known as the reality bender."

"That's so cool! How'd I do that though?" asked Naruto, referring to the necklace.

"An object tied to a deity that is used by someone blessed by that deity can use some of his or her powers. As a bender of reality you bended reality by created a second hand, now it may not be real to the point of touching objects, but still looks real. It's astounding you were blessed by such a powerful goddess, most ninja that are blessed by her never know unless they become masters in the art of genjutsu" said the young woman.

"How much is it?" asked Gale. If that artifact could do that with someone who was completely untrained in such things, what could it do if Naruto practiced with it?

"Free of charge sir, for you only. I usual mark down objects anyway if someone is blessed by that deity however in your case you get this free. As a token of gratitude for your work" said the woman. Gale knew what she meant, he chose not to comment on the last part and bowed his head which Naruto followed suit.

"Thank you" said Gale and Naruto in near unison.

"Before you go let me fill you in on a few things. First, using her powers isn't free once you get so far. The book will explain it in better detail, along with how to excel in using her powers and praying. Secondly, those you sense are corrupted men. They will not look twice at you but they will not be missed" said the woman with a smile.

"Thank you…..?"

"Abigail Alicia" said Abigail. **(Translates to God is Joy and Noble Birth)**

"Thank you Miss Alicia, we will be on our way" said Gale before he opened the door and let Naruto out and left himself. The young woman sighed then shifted a bit before noticing a small scroll on the ground. She noticed the marking on it instantly, the marking of the noble family she once stood with. With a slow and shaky hand she opened the scroll, reading the script inside.

' _Miss Alicia, I know who you are and who you once were. There is no need to fear me, for I am the protector you know of. The head of the guard, the last Uzushigakure shinobi still active. Inside is a map to a safe location just outside of Konoha, meet me there in a year and a half. If anything happens, channel chakra to the scroll and you will be protected. Stay safe –Gale Uzumaki, Head of the Uzushiogakure Royal Guard_

Abigail could see it was all written using chakra transferring seals to record one's thoughts onto paper but she didn't care. She cared that someone from her home was alive, someone of his stature and power was active. It was time to pack! She needed to get going as soon as possible!

A week later

"I hate the cold" said Gale with a frown while Naruto didn't fairly indifferent to it. That damn kid and his bijuu keeping him warm with a low flow of chakra made it very unfair. It wasn't Gale's fault he was too worried about the kid he forgot to add heated seals inside his cloak.

"Are we here to just see a blacksmith?" asked Naruto.

"Sort of, a blacksmith is part of our stop. You'll know as soon as…now" said Gale before he stopped at a large tower like building.

"Ah, Gale! I haven't seen you since you stopped by a few years back. Here for that stuff you asked for?" said an middle ages man, a sword on his hip and two guards behind him.

"Yes, old friend. I needed to pick it up and get some training in with its new owner. Is it alright if we take up a room here with you for a while?" asked Gale as Mifune let them in and walked through the tower.

"Of course, stay as long as you like. You don't cause any harm, but the Tsuchikage might if he finds you here in his visit next month."

"We'll stay for a few week then, I don't want to risk anything" said Gale before Mifune opened the door to a room and ushered them in. The two walked in then Mifune spoke once more.

"Your stuff is inside the chest near your bed. The other beds have been prepared in the rooms on either side. Dinner will be ready within the next hour, expect it then" and with that the older man closed the door and left.

"How in the world did you get so close to Mifune of all people?" asked Naruto, knowing the land of Iron only due to the fact he had visited his Jiji a few months prior when Naruto was around.

"Old contacts, during the second shinobi war we became good friends" said Gale before he opened the chest and pulled out a solid black tanto in a black sheath then handed it to Naruto.

"This is your sword now, I told you I'd get you one. We'll train here for a few weeks then backtrack and go to Taki then take a boat to Kumo."

"Wait, why would we backtrack through Taki?" inquired the blonde, tilting his head a little as he asked.

"Oto isn't a place for children, merchants don't even venture there often. We just came here mainly for his weapon, after this we'll go to Taki and use a boat a friend of mine has there to get to Kumo. Now, go get unpacked in your room to the left Naruto. After dinner we'll rest up and start your training first thing in the morning" said Gale.

Two weeks later

"Don't say a word" said Gale, activating his seals on his cloak. He was keeping Naruto as close to him as possible. They needed to get out of the tower quickly before anything happened Gale might regret doing. The Tsuchikage had arrived well ahead of schedule, he must have been out and about already before coming here to get here so early.

"What are you doing here so early, Tsuchikage-dono?" asked Mifune from down the hall.

"I had a meeting with the Taki village leader, I decided to save the trip and come here now. I apologize for not giving any notice beforehand" responded Onoki.

"Take a left" said Gale quietly, cutting left and walking at a faster pace before they continued down the path before encountering one of Mifune's head bodyguards.

"Sir, take the door directly down the hall and cut left, you'll get to the main village of Taki faster that way."

"Thank you" said Gale, pushing Naruto along towards the door. As soon as they made it outside Gale picked up Naruto and took off. They ran for what seemed like hours to Naruto, the two never let up at all until they had passed the snowy territory of the land of Iron and moved into the heavily forested area of Taki.

"The village is a day's journey ahead and we'll walk from here on out. There are rumors of mysterious chakra pulses near the area by my contacts, pulses for help. They couldn't track them because they were already on a run so when it sent out they never got an accurate reading."

"What about the village? Do we tell them about it or go after on our own?"

"We can let them know, I know the kage of this place. He'll give us a few to help take on whoever's there, if there is anything." Naruto kept silent the entire conversation between the two as they discussed possible outcomes, opting to read the book about Tsukuyomi instead. He had only prayed once, it wasn't anything special. Just a general respectful prayer to the goddess, however, the book said there was other things you could involve in prayers besides being respectful. As one blessed by her, he could ask for things in return for something else, usually a task that needed to be done on his plan of existence. He wanted to read further but a sudden pulse of chakra form the deep forest from his right caught his attention. It….seemed centered specifically to him seeing as Gale and Yuki didn't stop their conversation. Maybe he was just imagining things, he'd done that once or twice before.

" _ **You're not imagining anything, it's my sibling calling for my help. Her container must be in trouble and since she sensed me she decided to send a pulse of chakra only towards you"**_ said Hitome through the mental link they shared. Yeah, he had that too. Apparently, it was wise to be connected with her bijuu so if anything happened she could speak to him as time passed in his world.

" _ **Do I follow it? I can't do much by myself"**_ responded Naruto.

" _ **That man will follow you, I'll send a small bit of chakra. That'll help you get there faster and you may make it in time before anything too bad happens"**_ said Hitome before Naruto felt her chakra surge through him. It was always intoxicating, it was like a drug to him. He felt warmth spread through him as it moved around his coils, put his book up in his back pouch then let out a sigh and took off. He didn't bother feeling for Gale, there was no question he'd be right behind him in a matter of seconds but a few seconds was all he needed. In that span of time he had entered a small opening where he could see an older man kicking a small bronze skilled girl. Naruto went with his momentum and shoulder charged the man in the back, causing him to stumble forward and try not to fall as Naruto drew his sword before taking up a defense stance in front of the girl. The man Naruto slammed into got his feet planted and turned around with a confused look on his face.

"The hell is a kid doing all the way out here? Get lost yo-" Before he finished his sentence Gale was in front of him, Yuki had taken a stand in front of Naruto. The man looked ready to piss himself, the Gale Uzumaki was face to face with him. He was known as the only Uzushiogakure ninja left and the one of the only rouge ninja still alive with an S-rank title from the last war.

"You can get lost" said Gale before he delivered a bone crushing punch into the man's chest. The force of the attack alone caused small internal bleeding and collapsed a lung before he even left the ground he stood on and flew through a large tree. Gale turned around and looked to Naruto who was helping the girl up he had saved.

"Hey, you ok?" asked Naruto as he helped her to her feet.

She coughed a bit and nodded her head "I'm better now. I just wish someone would have done that a long time ago. How'd you find me?" Gale kept quiet, he wanted to know that just as much as she did.

"You're a jinchuurki" said Naruto and the girl flinched, taking a step back.

"Your bijuu sent me a burst of chakra and mine told me to come help you."

"W-wait, you're one too? Do you have a giant bug too?"

"No I've got the fox."

"Woah! You got the strongest one!" said the girl.

" _ **I like this girl already"**_ said Hitome.

"I wondered why you ran off, I didn't think it'd be for that reason though" said Yuki.

"Who're they?" asked the girl, scooting towards Naruto.

"The old man's my sensei " said Naruto.

"I'm not that old" said Gale.

"He's strong and smart though so he'll make sure you don't get messed with. Oh, I forgot! I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Fu, no last name" said Fu before she felt someone push her back. She noticed Shibuki now stood between her and the others.

"Stay behind me!" shouted the man before he turned around and instantly felt at ease.

"Gale, oh thank the heavens. I'm glad it's you, I wasn't sure what to think when I noticed Fu so far out of the village" said Shibuki with a sigh.

"Some guy was kicking her but I stopped it and Gale killed him" said Naruto and Gale groaned. He really needed to teach Naruto that some things were better left unsaid until later.

"You're pretty blunt there" said Shibuki with a small smile.

"Why not? It's not like you wouldn't find out later on anyway" said Naruto.

"Ok ok, enough. Shibuki-sama, why was your jinchuuriki being assaulted?" asked Gale.

"It's common for all hosts to be assaulted, shunned or both, either because of what their bijuu caused or the simple easy target a child provides. I've seen it too many times to count" said Gale.

"I can't stay here any longer, my guards will come here soon. Fu, please stay in your house next time. I made it so you would be safe. Gale, can I trust you to return her home?" asked the younger man and Gale nodded his head.

"Thank you, keep safe everyone" and with that he took off into the forest.

"Alright, let's get going. Fu, lead the way" said Gale.

"We're already here" said Fu before she pointed up. Both of them looked up and saw the large box like house connected to three trees high above them.

"Woah! That's totally wicked!" said Naruto before he took off up the tree, Fu right behind him. He quickly made it up the tree and used the door at the bottom of the floor to get inside before letting Fu up.

"This place is pretty cool" said Fu, showing him her house. It was relatively plain, some odd furnishing here and there, paintings and such. It wasn't anything extravagant but the house surely wasn't empty either.

"I guess you live out here cause they made you?" asked Naruto, looking at some of her paintings.

"Yeah but it's kinda nice, I get all this space to myself with no one to bother me. No busy streets and what not around me" responded Fu.

"Naruto, we need to go!" shouted his sensei.

"Agh, I'll be right down!" Naruto shouted back before turning to Fu.

"Hey, take care alright? If someone else comes by just stay up here and let Shibuki take care of it" said Naruto before he hugged her quickly and headed for the door on the floor.

"Will we meet sometime soon?"

Naruto shrugged "Dunno, I'm travelling now and I live in Konoha. Maybe during the chunin exams or something we can meet up and hang out."

"Alright, deal" said Fu and Naruto smiled.

"See ya then" said the Uzumaki before he shut the door and walked down the tree to his two guardians.

"Have fun?" asked Gale.

"Yeah, for the five seconds I was up there" said Naruto.

"We'll see her sooner than you think, time fly's when you're travelling and training" said Gale, patting his head.

"It better" pouted Naruto and he laughed.

"Finally acting your age I see" said the man.

"Shut it!" shouted Naruto in embarrassment.

* * *

One ½ years later

"Seems like only yesterday I was here" said Gale with a tired sigh.

"You're just old, old man" said Naruto beside him, dressed in his new gear. He had on a royal blue long sleeved shirt, anbu style black pants tied into white ninja combat boots. Over everything was a sleeveless cloak that covered everything from his head down to his knees. On his right and left thigh rested kunai pouches. A gold belt on his waist tied an elegant katana on the left side of his hip. The sheath was matt black, the guard wrapping matching it with a gold diamond pattered and the pommel topped off in gold while the blade if seen was deep crimson. Of course, it wouldn't be seen though, five inches of cloth was wrapped from the handle to the sheath so it wouldn't be drawn easily.

"Get going to class, we'll talk Hiruzen" said Gale, handing him a note the kage had sent him a few days ago once they had entered the land of fire.

"Will do" was all Naruto said before spinning on his heel and walking towards the academy building just on the other side of the kage tower.

"Think he'll be ok in the academy? More specifically will the others be ok?" asked Yugao, suddenly appearing next to him.

"This year is full of clan heads, they'll fit in well" said Gale, continuing his walk.

"I guess we just need to wait until the place burning down to step in" said the woman and Gale nodded his head.

With Naruto

He slowed to a stop and looked at the door number burned on the door.

"This is it" said Naruto before opening the door and seeing a class full of kids and two instructors. One man he knew well, Iruka, a man who had helped him quite a bit when he first started class and the other was new to him.

"Welcome back Naruto, the hokage informed me you would arrive sometime this week. Take any free seat" said the chunin with a smile. Naruto returned the smile and bowed his head as thanks before moving up the stairs and to the second level of seat, opting the window seat behind someone he knew of called Sasuke Uchiha. He hadn't heard much but what Gale said told him was much different from the rest of the village had spoken about. He'd have to have a talk with him, try to help him out if he could.

"Alright, let's move back on track. We'll be getting into the first shinobi world war" said Iruka and Naruto almost groaned in pain.

* * *

One year later

Naruto quietly read through a small leather bound book in an empty class room, his head never moving as someone walked inside and sat down in front of him.

"Got a new book?" asked Sasuke, pulling out a scroll with the kanji for fire on it.

"Yeah, a friend I met a while ago just sent me a new set of them. How's that fire scroll I got for you?" asked Naruto. He had used Gale to gain access to the deeper jutsu library Sasuke couldn't access on his own and grabbed him some advanced fire scrolls and chakra refinement. Their partnership was small, and stopped there seeing as Sasuke had quite a cold edge to him Naruto wasn't fond of.

Within the next hour the class slowly filed in, some alone and others in groups until the room was mostly full when Iruka walked in, a little beaten up.

"Mizuki will no longer be teaching at this school due to some altercations with the higher ups of the school" said the chunin but Naruto knew what he meant, he had watched the altercation after all. The silver haired chunin's plan to steal the forbidden scroll was already known so Iruka decided to disguise himself as the scroll and let the man take him just towards the end of the village before incapacitating him. At least, that's what Yugao told him since she was the brown-haired man's anbu shadow for the mission.

"Please stay quite while I read off the roster for this year's genin" said the chunin and Naruto tuned him out for a while. The first groups were mostly civilian children with the ability to perform ninjutsu and were tasked in low numbers, easily told by the sensei of each group.

"Team seven, under Kakashi Hatake, will be Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto and Sasuke Uchiha." A well known fact was these were the smartest or strongest people out of the group of genin. Sakura was easily the smartest book wise in the female crop, Naruto and Sasuke had shown in spars everyone paled in comparison to them.

' _Odd, usually they pair up the best with the worst to fill things in. Maybe it's because they want us to work together, become like the sanin or something'_ was the thought of Naruto and Sasuke but all Sakura cared about was 'love prevailing.' With his team over Naruto returned to reading, as did Sasuke. Kakashi was going to be late by at least two hours and a maximum of four while his exam was known to never pass a single team. Naruto wasn't too worried but it would take some time to get them to work together enough to pass his test.

Time seemed to pass by rather quickly until they neared the three hour mark but Naruto could already tell their sensei was closing in on the door.

' _I wonder what he'd do if put a block to stop the door from opening all the way'_ thought Naruto, motioning his hands in a few different ways before going back to reading, or pretending to while he watched the door. He noticed the door handle move slightly like someone touched and Sasuke too let his eyes glide to the door handle before nothing happened. Naruto narrowed his eyes before he jumped back to the seats above him just as two kunai shattered the window and something jumped inside.

Previously with Kakashi

He took his time, enjoying his book as he approached the door where his genin were only to feel his left eye itch a little. He placed his book in his back pocket and expanded his senses, not feeling anything hostile so he placed a hand on the door and noticed something odd. He focused solely on the door and noticed the….disruption that would stop the door from opening. He had only seen this a few times before but he knew enough about it to know what it was and decided his clone couldn't make it inside this way before dispelling.

The original on top of the roof felt his clones memories and smiled a bit "How interesting. One's already versed in reality bending, I wonder how well though." With that he jumped off the roof and landed on the tree before throwing two kunai just above Naruto to shatter the glass before going inside to stand on the table. In yet another moment of shock for the jonin he leaned his head back and used his left hand to grab two kunai throw by Sasuke and Naruto and his right hand moved to catch a pair of shuriken thrown by Sakura.

"My my, you three are really something" said Kakashi, tossing each genin their tools back. He expected Naruto and Sasuke to react but for Sakura to move like that, maybe this team would pass his test.

"Meet me on the roof and Naruto, good job with that little trick" said the jonin before he disappeared in a burst of speed.

"Good reflexes Sakura, I didn't expect to see you move like that" said Naruto and she huffed, trying to act prideful and because he said it instead of Sasuke.

"I'm not great at physical stuff but I won't just let someone try to kill me sitting down" said the pink haired girl and both boys laughed.

"Hn, that makes pretty good sense" said Sasuke before Naruto dispelled what he created and lead the two upstairs and on to the roof where Kakashi was waiting. He leaned against the railing around the edge of the roof while the three genin took a seat on the small set of stairs in front of him.

"Let's go down the line starting with Sasuke and give a quick introduction. Your name, hobbies, likes, dislikes, dreams and what not."

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha, I like tomatoes and sweet things every now and again, I dislike quite a lot of things so I won't list them, two big hobbies of mine are training and reading, my dream is to clear up something with a certain someone" said the Uchiha. Naruto had spoken to Sasuke about his clans incident and told him off, saying how training with hate would block you from seeing the bigger picture. The Uchiha had seen the anbu with him and figured that the blonde wasn't lying when he said the incident was too strange but Naruto swore that was all his sensei had told him. Sasuke made his new goal to speak with his elder brother and figure out what really happened that day but he needed to be able to face him on even grounds to do even that.

"My name is Sakura Haruno, I like Sasuke and reading, I dislike anyone who things they have a chance with Sasuke and those who think kunochi can't compete with other shinobi. My hobbies are reading and…..other things. My dream is to…..uh…..show the world kunochi are capable ninja too." This defiantly surprised the group, her affection for Sasuke was known throughout the village but here she was actually showing she had some kind of drive besides stalking said Uchiha.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I like reading, training and sweet things, I dislike arrogant people and other things, my hobbies are training, reading and talking with Hitome. My dream is to become the best person I can and help people reach their own goals." Kakashi wondered who Hitome was, knowing he was gone only with Gale for the trip but brushed his curiosity aside.

"Well, I guess it's my go then. I'm Kakashi Hatake and that's about all you need to know! I'll see you all at training ground seven tomorrow morning at eight, and please don't eat" with that the jonin disappeared.

"Don't eat? Oh man, that's gonna suck" said Sakura as Naruto and Sasuke stood up.

"Make sure you eat, it's part of his exam tomorrow. This is the real genin exam so come prepared, we'll have to work together to take him down" said Sasuke before he exited the roof as Naruto moved to the other exit, leaving her alone and realizing something.

The next day 10:00 am

"Morning!" said Kakashi, arriving to see all three genin reading either a scroll or a book.

"Nice to see your doing something productive but it's time for the real genin test" said the jonin, setting a timer down on one of the three training posts in the field, just before the lake.

"See these bells on my waist? Two of you have to get them and those two get to pass, the other gets to go back to the academy for another year." Silence, the three seemed to not even be paying attention to him. Kakashi quickly jumped back to avoid a hail of kunai, skidding to a stop just at the edge of the lake. Then he sensed it, turned around and saw a bullet of water flying towards him at speeds he didn't expect but he wasn't a jonin for show. He substituted himself for a log just as the water bullet sent the long flying across the field. Once the jonin had regained his bearings he immediately moved on the defensive to evade a series of strikes from Sasuke. The Uchiha slipped up and over extended his arm which allowed the jonin to grab hold of his wrist but he let go and jumped back to avoid the downward slash of Naruto's black tanto now in hand.

As soon as he passed by Kakashi kicked Naruto across the field to the posts and then grabbed Sasuke's collar to toss him next to Naruto. Only one left…

"We win" said Sakura, appearing next to Naruto out of thin air with two bells in her hands.

"You can find my illusions pretty quick but not unless you focus so we didn't give you time to" said Naruto with a smile.

Kakashi returned the smile "Well done, you all pass! Now, let me go over some things about this team. Yes, you were formed to make a powerhouse team but not many believed the hokage when he said you'd all get along. We saw the skill each of you possessed and decided parring you all together would benefit the village as a whole so we could train you three to hopefully become a strong three man cell. We did expect some issues at first with cooperation but it seems you've already got that down much quicker than anyone had guessed. So, I've got to ask what made you come up with such a plan?"

"I asked Gale for some advice and he gave me a quick run down on how the jonin he knew did their tests. Then we narrowed it down to either you, Kurenai or Asuma. Yours was the only one I had to plan for and when it was official all I did was talk it over with my team on what to do. I guess using Gale was a little cheating though" said Naruto, scratching the back of his head, looking a little sheepish.

"No, ninja are taught to use everything at their disposal and this is no different. You took advantage of your sensei then, knowing I'd be late, coursed your team to work with you on a plan. I am curious though, What stage book are you reading?" asked Kakashi, not wanting to reveal his entire secret to the other two.

"I'm half way through stage four" said Naruto and Kakashi seemed somewhat surprised.

"That far, huh. Keep up the reading and you'll be a master before you know it. Now, we'll be training together for a while and lay off doing too many D-rank missions until later. Go home and get some sleep, I'm going to begin body conditioning tomorrow" and with that the jonin disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Well, I'm going home. See ya" said Sasuke, Sakura right on his heels.

"Might as well go to Gale's place and get some sleep" said Naruto, walking out of the training ground.

 **I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and noticed how I'm incorporating Tsukuyomi into this, or well the blessing of her into this. I'll go deeper into the stages next chapter for now I wanted to just show you all what he can do. I did edit Yuki out, she really wasn't needed and I only put her in there for a tragic story piece later on which seemed pretty dumb in the end. I also took the interactions between Sasuke and Naruto to a much smaller scale. Making them instant friends over such a short period like I had didn't make sense or work with Sasuke's nature. I think if Naruto showed up with Yugao with advice and some revelation for the massacre he'd instill more doubt in Sasuke that what he already had on what happened then. After all, even in canon it was shown Sasuke had many doubts on what happened and why things occurred as they did. I hope it doesn't sound too ridiculous, but this was a much needed edit. I'll definitely be adding some OC missions in here so give the team more interaction and time as a cell before the chunin exams starts. Nothing crazy, but one or two will get a little dicey to make it interesting. Take care!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry I was gone so long guys, kinda lost idea's for a while on a lot of my stories but I'm going around and updating what I can slowly. It's nice to see some people liked the idea and frankly I'm having fun with it. Not much to say besides a warning bit. Sasuke and Sakura actually do shit in this story, like Sasuke isn't a little shit and Sakura actually realizes she can help her team other than fighting. Off we go!**

 _'We must learn to live together as brothers or perish as fools'~ Martin Luther King Jr._

Chapter 3

Naruto huffed tiredly, leaning against a tree as Yugao moved to grab water. He had long since taken off his cloak and shirt, leaving him shirtless as Yugao removed hers in favor of a sports bra used in her workouts. It was a private training ground for anbu so she had no worries of someone peaking on her here and Naruto didn't dare stare too long. Now, compared to Naruto who was dead tired he showed nearly no signs of exhaustion, only a light sheen of sweat glistened on her body. Kakashi had given the team a day off before they started back up on missions. For the past month it was a continuous cycle, early morning training, D-rank missions then go home, train more, study, and rest. He ate at different times throughout the day but he always ate after he studied at night. Gale made sure of it, keeping a strict timetable on him at all times.

He enlisted Yugao as a trainer for his swordsmanship, stealth and jutsu list. His blade work was apparently much better than Yugao expected, stating she saw him surpassing herself within a short time if he gained more experience in the field. His stealth was lacking but he made up for it with stamina, speed and the use of his blessing. With the blessing he could mask his sound or presence completely which Yugao had never seen before in anyone so young. He did mess up often, especially in keeping a better track of when to kill or let a target go while infiltrating and doing a better job being aware of his surroundings.

Jutsu was something he lacked the most in, only knowing one water and one wind jutsu. It wasn't terrible for someone his age but with his stealth low and his favored style of combat being more front faced he needed jutsu to boost his survival. In a month he had gotten the hang of using another water jutsu and two wind jutsu. The key thing was he got the hang of it but he was far from mastering it and Yugao said 'Master what you know before moving to something new. It's better to be able to use a jutsu with one hand and good control than to loose too much chakra and power to a sloppy jutsu that took too long to create.' Naruto understood and embraced it, only having to use the water jutsu he knew with two hands and the wind was down to one now.

"That's a good breaking point for today's kenjutsu since I had you working on your regular ninjutsu before we started. I've got to go fill out a mission report from yesterday so practice the water walking again for a few hours. Gale said he'd be by then, see ya." Naruto just waved her off and she shook her head with a smile, putting back on her normal shirt before heading towards the street.

"Slave drivers, the lot of you" said the blonde, groaning as he slowly trudged to the nearby pond. It was barely twenty feet wide but worked well for water jutsu practice and water walking exercises. He stepped onto the water, not showing any sign of issues with the initial walk. Once he got to the middle he slowly slid into a stance, his black tanto in hand before he began to flow through kata's. If one watched they could see him falter a little, slid his foot a little too far, nearly fall over, see his foot go underwater barley by an inch and other minor slip ups. He only learned to water walk a few days ago and it was an easy exercise but training to fight on it was where it became complicated. Time passed swiftly and before Naruto knew he could sense Gale standing at the edge of the pond.

"Not bad, catching on quick. You should get Kakashi to spar with you on the lake at your training ground" said the aged man as Naruto walked past him and grabbed a towel nearby to wipe himself down of sweat.

"I might but he's pretty lazy and I think he knows if we do the other two might get mad they don't know how to even tree walk yet. Maybe he can teach them and let them train while we battle…..perfect!"

Gale laughed "There ya go! Once you got everything back on head home and rest up. You've got your team to deal with tomorrow."

"I work out none stop then go right back to actual work. Love it" said Naruto with a groan.

"Life's tuff but you'll get used to it."

"Really?"

"Haha. No, now hurry up. I'm ready to go."

The next day

Kakashi did his best to ignore the complaints of his genin team, whining about the boring missions they had to do. They omitted practice today to start off on missions and they had just finished their first one. He could see Iruka was ready to throw his stapler at them but somehow the hokage showed no signs of even the slightest irritation.

"You know we can handle a C-rank, Kakashi-sensei" said Sakura, surprising the jonin this time. She usually never complained or spoke up but this time it seems even she was threw with the meager tasks.

"She's right, Kakashi. I think they deserve the chance to show they can handle a C-rank mission. I have a foreign diplomat from a smaller country bordering ours who stopped by for a few days. She needs safe guarding to the Fire daimyo's palace. She is already equipped with a personal guard but feels it safer to have ninja more familiar with the layout to act as body guards and a guide. Is this acceptable?"

"I think that's easy enough for my little genin" said Kakashi with an eye smile. It sounded simple, escort on a main road most Konoha ninja did with someone already protected. A good first mission for a trip outside the village.

"Very well, all of you prepare for a week-long venture outside the village. I'll notify her and have her at the gate by noon so don't be late this time Kakashi." The silver haired jonin knew better this time, dealing with someone who was headed to the Fire Daimyo wasn't someone he could press buttons with. At least until he met them.

"You heard your kage, go get ready" said Kakashi with an eye smile as he watched the three run off down the hall.

"Do you think it'll be ok sending them so early?" asked Iruka.

"With things like this, only time will tell" said Kakashi before he too disappeared in a shunshin.

Noon- front gate

Sasuke arrived shortly after Naruto did, seeing Sakura running from the street some ways down. The Uchiha checked his backpack as Naruto seemed without one but he guessed the blonde had it sealed in the scroll he always carried in his back pouch. That reminded Sasuke, Naruto had promised to teach him soon and he needed to remind the blonde at some point. It was a useful trade to know after all.

"Hey guys, excited for the trip?" asked Sakura, looking to Sasuke. She was indifferent towards Naruto, he had taught her a few minor genjutsu skills and helped her with chakra control too. She was happy to have him as a teammate but he did like to butt in when she wanted alone time with Sasuke.

"Ready to take a trip outside the walls for once" responded the Uchiha.

"I'm ready to finally go back out there. Traveling is so exciting!" said Naruto with a smile.

"You traveled before?" asked his female partner, none of them knowing what he had been doing while he was away from the academy.

"Yeah, with Gale. He took me around the elemental nations for a while and it was super fun! We got around to every major nation and saw some cool people!" Naruto would have gone on but he saw the arriving of a large cart with a driver and a woman walking along side. The driver seemed as a normal as could be, dressed up like anyone would be that carted royalty around, nice clothes from top to bottom. The woman beside the cart was fairly tall, standing nearly 5'8", wearing what seemed almost like old nun attire save for everything black was navy blue and it was obviously a little heavier. If Sasuke had to guess she had it padded to add extra protection around her chest area which seemed like a smart idea. It was easily capable for fighting, looked almost like a nun to blend in quickly with most crowds and she held herself in a way that spoke volumes.

"Hello, I am Friede, the guard for Princess Yukana. It is a pleasure to meet you three" said the woman bowing. As the three genin returned the bow Kakashi appeared between them, already standing up from a short bow of his own.

"Nice to see you doing well, Friede."

"Ah, Kakashi-kun. It's been some time since we last saw one another. I'm glad you are the jonin tasked, I know we'll be in capable hands." Naruto saw the two others were seemingly lulled by the woman's angelic voice, her soft tone seeming to flow around them but he ignored the nagging in his head easily. What he saw was different, behind that smile he saw those cold eyes, the eyes Gale had, and Kakashi showed at times. She was a veteran ninja for sure.

"I'm glad we're able to meet again in calmer circumstances than last time. My team should be ready to go so once your part is prepared we'll set off." The woman cracked the door and spoke inside, holding a short conversation before shutting it and turning to Kakashi.

"We're ready when you are."

"Let's get moving then!" shouted Naruto with a thrust of his fist and Kakashi gave him a thumbs up.

"Off we go team." As the carriage began to push forward the team took their posts. Kakashi and Friede walked in front past the horses, keeping a constant guard ahead and seemingly enjoying small talk as they moved. Sasuke got the right of the carriage while he read through another book about fire jutsu and shortening hand signs while Sakura was mixed between the scenery and a book on medical ninjutsu Kakashi spoke about since there was no medic on the team. Sakura knew she was of little battle help but even something as small as mending wounds, or setting bone, could save her team's life in the field. Naruto was watching the clouds above until the window of the carriage was propped up and a young girl around his age poked her head out.

"Hey, your Naruto, right? You look like a maelstrom waiting to happen."

Naruto smiled, liking her already "Yeah, you must be Yukana."

She folded her arms across the ledge and rested her head on them "The one and only. Whatcha doing all the way out here? Last Friede was saying there was no Uzumaki left. And they have red hair."

"We'll I inherited some traits from both families, my sealing is very extraordinary. Where do you hail from?"

"A small mining town far beyond those mountains, secluded from most life. We mine far and wide there and control nearly all the land beyond. I'm going to make my first visit to the Daimyo and set up some new trades since we hit a few new veins just last month."

"You're quite prepared for someone so young, I usually don't see that."

"You've met princesses before?"

"A few and one is strong in her own right but many are pampered from birth and expect everything. Unlike you, your highness."

She smiled brightly as any kid would being complimented "Yeah, Friede says the same! I knew my mom worked hard for this and I was raised around it so I caught on quick. Now, my guardian Friede has been chosen for me and I make this journey. You guys are genin right?"

"Yeah, except for Kakashi, he's our jonin sensei."

"Ok, well, have you guys gone outside the village a lot before?"

"This is our first mission as a team but I've traveled for a few years under a different sensei."

"Cool! Did you go to Kumo? Was it snowing? Was it cool?!"

Naruto chuckled at her excitement, the same kind he had her age "It was snowing there and it was very cool. I got to see the place filled with water as well as that village surrounded by rocks. They all carry their own unique beauty to them."

"I bet! I wanna travel but I have my own things to do as ruler now. I guess it is its own reward. If you go again….can you take pictures and send them to me? I want to see what you guys get to see in the world!"

"Sure but I'll need two things for that. A place to send them and something to take all the pictures with."

"I'll give you an address and a camera before you leave the palace tomorrow. So, have you got any good stories to tell? Most ninja have one or two."

Naruto nodded then frowned "I do but I'll have to tell you it over dinner. We've got some things to take care of. Shut the window please." She had a rough guess and closed the window back just before Naruto pulled a kunai and stopped the incoming arrow that would surly have pierced the cart. He spun and quickly took a defensive stance, the commotion gaining everyone's attention.

"Sakura, Friede, take the princess and move quickly to the rest point. We'll meet you there once we're finished" said Kakashi before he joined up with Naruto and Sasuke, creating a wall against the small militia of members that began to seep from the forest behind.

"Move quickly child!" shouted Friede as Sakura jumped onto the cart. The driver took off and Friede matched it's pace as it trudged on down the road.

"I wasn't expected nearly a dozen men" said Naruto, putting away his kunai and slowly unsheathing his black tanto that rested on the small of his back.

"Well, you get used to it. This stuff happens all the time" said Kakashi with a shrug, not overly concerned with the situation. He only sent them away to he wasn't having to protect the princess while fighting the canon fodder of paid guns. Now, as the jonin, Kakashi planned to take the lead and let his genin follow suit. He wasn't sure if either had a first kill so having to experience this small mess may hinder their ability to act fast after the first blow was dealt. His plan was shot down when Naruto took off, covering the distance much faster than a normal genin before shoving a sword into the closest man's chest. With a sputter of blood he fell and the massacre began. Naruto seemed to move fairly effortlessly through the rag tag group, mostly going for the neck or heart. Kakashi was much more effective, always making a clean slice into the jugular while Sasuke had enough time left over when he reached to light up a few with his fireball jutsu on the three remining.

Of course, as soon as his jutsu died off Sasuke saw the burning men, screaming in pain as the fell down. It wasn't as quite as the other two, gurgles were the most it got to but Sasuke's was gruesome. He handled it as Kakashi expected, kneeling over and throwing up. The jonin sighed, knowing that was going to happen having seen in countless times during his many missions. Sasuke may have seen the Uchiha massacre but he'd never taken a life as he did today, and that was a shell shock the first time around.

Sasuke wiped his mouth and huffed "H-how are you ok, Naruto?"

"I've already damned a soul before, in much more gruesome a manner than this" said Naruto, lifeless blue eyes looking over the either dead or dying men. No woman, of course, this was a rag tag bandit group which normally never had woman participating in it.

"Does it….ugh…..get easier?" asked the Uchiha, dry heaving a little looking back at the charred corpses.

"No, you just learn to live with it. If it ever becomes easy, then you need to seek help. Taking a life is never a light thing and those who see it as simple as breathing tend to walk a darker path than those who fight for their people" said Kakashi. He turned back and saw his raven haired genin start to stand up and noticed Naruto was sheathing his sword and turning to him for the next course of action.

"Let's move out, we need to meet back up with the others before it gets dark and set up camp. Follow me." Kakashi started off, Naruto and Sasuke moving together after but as they made it nearly 30 yards the two genin passed a puddle, thinking nothing less. Within the time it took to blink Naruto and Sasuke were covered in shadows, two men, wearing a chained gauntlet appeared from below and brought their claw down towards their heads. Naruto was turning and knew his time was limited, he also knew he wasn't going to draw his sword quickly enough to block.

' _Damnit, I'll have to use an illusion to get out of this and help Sasuke. Here we go!'_ Just as the blonde prepared to cast his illusion the twins heads smashed together knocking both of them out cold before the fell to the ground in a heap.

"You need to keep a better watch on your surroundings. I expected you to notice the puddle Naruto, your sensory capabilities are better than your comrades. Keep your eyes and ears open, and always be on high alert for the slightest chakra pulse. You mentioned to me you sense well, that's the duty a sensory shinobi holds. Continue on, we've waisted enough time." The talk was hard, Kakashi knew that but when your life is on the life every second of the day you can't afford to always be nice about it. He'd yet to even tell them his team's motto, he needed to get around to is sooner rather than later.

" _ **He's right, that was sloppy work Naruto. You're much better than that and you don't need to slack off just because things seemed easy at the beginning"**_ said Hitome through the mental link. She acted more of a teacher to him at this point, almost like a mom but he ignored that one.

" _ **I know, I wasn't paying attention since Kakashi was in the lead but he was testing us and we both failed. I've been lax since I left Gale's side, not expected everyone to try and kill us every second of the day makes me drop my senses. Sorry about that, I won't let something like that happen again."**_

" _ **Better not, I don't feel like dying anytime soon either."**_ Naruto only rolled his eyes as he saw the cart ahead. They made it quickly back, moving at a decent speed compared to the running pace of horses pulling a carriage.

"Was your trip uneventful?" asked Kakashi, walking up to Friede and Sakura, resting near the carriage that was parked against a small rock face a quarter mile from the main road.

"Other than a few small fry, yes. Your genin here is a little shaken up though, first blood and all." He could see Sakura's far out look and her pale complexion, not far off from Sasuke as of the moment.

"Well, we had a similar issue on our side so let's make camp here at the rest point. We've only got half a day's travel left from here anyway."

"Agreed, I'll tend to these two and my princess if you two gentlemen wouldn't mind gathering food. I'll make sure a fire's ready before you return." Naruto bowed and walked off into the woods, pulling a kunai from his holster as he did.

"Are you not going to assist, Kakashi-kun? He did have his own kills, seeing from the blood on him." Kakashi waved her off with an eye smile he looked around for fire kindling.

"No, he's seen his first already from what he spoke of. As it stands, I think he prefers his alone time after such acts."

"Ah, so he did much of the killing. I expected yourself to take control during that escapade" said the black haired woman, unraveling a scroll and unsealing a few cooking necessities.

"I did, but he beat me to it. It's in the past now, nothing to do over it."

X

Naruto chowed down on a rabbit leg, enjoying the taste as usual while everyone minus Sakura and Sasuke ate normally. Even Yukana was out and about, sitting near the fire with them as the driver moved his meal away and tended to the horses. The blonde saw his teammate's lack of appetite but encourage them to eat, stating they'd only make the situation worse tomorrow if it was to happen again. With a bit more enthusiasm, they began to eat.

"Tell me Naruto-san, where was your first kill? I haven't met but a small handful of genin who have killed before their first mission outside the walls."

"I traveled for a few years with a sensei, he trained me to be as I am now but he had many enemies and even more attempts on his life. Mine came by proxy sometimes, but he was there to stop it. The location was a large port town in Mizu."

"Quite a far distance, what happened? Things get rougher than your sensei could handle so you stepped in?" Naruto laughed loudly at that, getting a look of curiosity from most besides Kakashi who was already briefed by the hokage.

"I don't see the humor, Naruto-san. That was an honest question and there was no joke intended" said Friede, somewhat offended. She was a polite woman and rarely made sarcastic or crude remarks. With him laughing at her, she took offense but she noticed him wave at her in apology with a small dying chuckle.

"No no, it's not what you said but a thought I had. I just found it amusing to think my sensei would ever have trouble in many situations, must less that nearly all civilian port town."

"Who's your super strong sensei then, Naruto?" asked Yukana as she leaned in excitement.

Naruto sighed, preparing for worse before he spoke "Gale Uzumaki." Everyone heard the snap as Friede's grip on her rabbit leg crushed the bone with ease.

A mantra recited in her head _'Keep calm, keep calm'_ but her outward appearance gave little to calm things. Her ice blue eyes narrowed as she looked at the blonde and her chakra seeped out. Sasuke and Sakura noted the temperature seemed to begin to drop slowly, mostly near Friede. Just as she moved to stand her eyes met Naruto's and her chakra presence vanished, more precisely, it was snuffed out as blood red eyes locked on to her own.

"Is there a problem?" was all Naruto said, not showing a single bit of emotion outwardly.

"Your kin slaying _filth_ of a teacher is the problem, _child._ " Her words were ice, attempting to freeze him over thrice but nothing broke his calm facade. Before it escalated further Kakashi stood, standing in front of her.

"Let's go check the area for any signs of hostiles, Friede." His tone was happy, and nothing seemed off but only she could see his face. The lone eye that starred at her was no longer Kakashi-kun, this was Hatake Kakashi. A legendary anbu and someone she knew was best not to be trifled with, lest she lose more than just her cool.

"A bright idea, Kakashi. Let's leave the children to enjoy their meal." The two jonin stood and walked away, leaving a confused group and an angry Naruto that began to eat his food in silence. Yukana had seen some of the looks and got the gist of what happened so she stayed silent. Right now, her blonde friend most likely needed some time to himself.

With Kakashi

"Would you mind telling me what that was back there?" asked Kakashi coolly.

"It's nothing of your concern, or business, Kakashi. Please, do not prod into-" Her words died as she was pinned to a tree, this time her sights met the deadly cold face of Kakashi, both eyes.

"I will not stand by as I see someone threaten my team, especially a jonin gearing to attack a genin. Now, it's not a question, it's a demand. Unless you wish to be left stranded here and hope another group isn't waiting for you down the road." The raven haired woman was taken aback but not surprised, the silver haired man even in anbu was known to care for his team greatly. He'd sooner slaughter entire armies then put one member on the chopping block.

"Gale Uzumaki, the bane of the elemental nations. He carries multiple atrocities with him, his most famous being the revenge killing of anyone involved on the attack against Uzushiogakure all those years ago. Few were sparred, and only due to their power, or stature in world politics."

Kakashi's grip tightened around her wrist, keeping her rooted "I know this, get to the point."

"He has killed thousands Kakashi, massacred entire armies before gaining a stationary position of Head of the Royal Guard. Before then, he'd roamed the nations freely, eradicating whatever he was paid to do from contracts sent to him by his kage. A letter was forged only once and sent to him, telling him the Head of the Royal Guard was needed for a situation in the elemental nations due to an Ice user uprising. Assuming it was real, he moved and did as he was told from his meeting with a village council. A large gathering of Ice users intent to move far away and live in peace was masqueraded as a war party hell bent on revenge from the bloodline purge near Mizu. Without question, without hesitation, the man drew that godly weapon and slaughtered everyone, woman, children, all alike died. I was the lone survivor, hiding amongst the dead bodies to fool his senses knowing he was without chakra detection.

That letter was a lie, as was the town, sent and created from a master seal maker and the council in Kumo to lure him away from the island while it was toppled over instantly. They feared one man, one man's power, and killed hundreds all to make him leave for just a few short days. From then, I wished only death to him and given the chance I'd fight with everything I had to end his life. He deserves nothing more from me. That monster playing human." By now, her tears were falling freely as she spoke. Her fists were tight and her posture was stiff as she never broke eye contact with the jonin who never saw a twinge of deceit from her. He sighed, letting her wrist go.

"I understand your pain, I can't say I've been there but I can understand your view point. However, do you think he's not regretted it? I know regret means little after his actions but he's taken a pupil, to teach the next generation what's right and not to follow the path he did. I've spoken to him, Gale knows the magnitude of his actions and doesn't condone a single one of them. Naruto, knows barely a handful of it because he's been taught by someone who's moved on from that part in his life."

"What's done is done, there is no going back and there is nothing to be helped by begging for forgiveness where it won't be found. All you can do is hope your judgement is merciful and do your best to ensure the next generation doesn't end up the same monster you are" said Gale, walking out of the shadows. He saw Friede's pure rage and did nothing, which only angered her more. She wished to draw her weapons and dissect him, disembowel him, make him feel true pain. But she stopped, she saw the eyes that starred back. They carried the sorrow, the husk of this once youthful man, last of his dwindling kin, and power. Raw, unmatched by few, deadly and deeper than an ocean. One side showed her he truly was a broken man from his actions, and lack of, and the other only spoke volumes of the raging fire that was Gale Uzumaki. She would be killed in an instant, she was but a bug in his path. The ring of the bell on her wrist given from Yukana made her member the princess. Her death would leave her ward untended, helpless to the elements of this churning world. That she could not do.

"Curse me, hate me, think of me as you wish for I deserve it all but do not extend my actions from the war unto my student. I thought you much smarter than that" said Gale, frowning as he stopped to stand a few feet from them. Her expression settled neutral once again, masking her blinding rage under a calm facade.

"What calls you out so far, Harbinger of Death, Deacon of Misdoing?" She may be calm but her words stung like needles, and names flew like fire from her mouth.

"I have a contact close by and chose to check up on Naruto's team. I see things are going as I expected." Ah, of course he'd seen this coming. Wait, what? Why would he? He didn't know her?!

Her calm face twisted in confusion "H-how do you know me?"

"Ice user, I sensed you there that day and sparred you. There were no children younger than you present and most were six years your senior and prepared for battle. I saw you as no threat, nor a problem and I'm glad your alive. You have an important role with Yukana, and one that she appreciates greatly. I ask of you to not see Naruto as an extension of myself, but as my way to give back to the world I've taken so much from. Blood will not leave my hands, but I can use these hands to protect others now and attempt to rebuild that which I've lost."

"I will….ignore your imprint on the boy and omit you from my thoughts against him. However, given the chance, I will see you dead. Nothing will change that, Kin Slayer." Gale only smiled a little in response and looked to Kakashi.

"Keep them in line, Kakashi. You've got more of a level head than your father, something many people need these days. I'll see you around, try not to kill each other when I leave either." With that he disappeared, the short conversation leaving more wanted from both ninja but they never said a word until he vanished in the darkness.

"Kakashi-kun."

"Yes?"

"Can you stab me through the chest please? I wish to feel less pain than I am right now" said Friede, turning to a deadpanned jonin.

"No, and you knew the answer."

She sighed "It was worth a try. It seems my kindness knows no bounds, letting you assault me and not attempting to kill that man, all within a few minutes. I believe I'm ready for bed. Walk me back, Kakashi-kun" said the woman, grabbing his arm. He knew she was crying, she had done it before when they met after they'd gotten out of a…..very bad batch of Orochimaru's bases. He said nothing and began to walk back, letting her silent tears stream as he recovered his left eye.

X

The group was back on the road again and took up a new formation in case there was spotters hidden away from the last attack. Sasuke took point, Sakura moved to the opposite side, Kakashi on the other while Naruto and Friede brought up the rear. Naruto was supposed to move to the front but the princess insisted he stay back there. Her body guard was unsure of her reasoning until the back window opened and she propped up on the ledge.

"So, you never finished last night. What was your first kill?"

"You are a really weird kid" said Naruto. He'd never known a princess that wanted to know of a ninja's first kill, they stayed away from that aspect of life.

"I know I know but you made me think about it! I wanna know!" By this point they talked loud enough that everyone could hear, even Sasuke had one ear in on the chat since his curiosity got the better of him.

"I was near a bar, well, at a food stand across from one while Gale had left to meet a contact in secret. A few minutes in, some guy comes in drunk as no tomorrow and bigger than the moon. He pushes me down and just starts chowing down on my food, that I paid for. I attempted to be nice and was even asking to just buy another but he refused, saying he'd take that one just as quickly as the first one. I threw some insults, grabbed my drink nearby and left. He took offense and tried to grab me from behind. I saw it and spun, crashing my bottle against his head which did nothing but make him made.

From there, he tried to kick me, terrible kick and barely lifted off the ground but I knew if he got ahold of me I'd be in real trouble. I figured a good stab would put him off and jumped, shoving the broken bottle into the fat of his neck. He stuttered a little then flew into a rage and clamped down on my entire body. All I could do was struggle against his grip and kick him which resulted in nothing so I lifted one leg then slammed it into the bottle, shoving it deep into his throat. The giant man stumbled back and fell, taking me with him and never letting go.

My next reaction was to grab the kunai from my holster and tilt it up then work my arm upwards to dig it into his flesh. It worked well, he let go of my right side then I did what I had to ensure he didn't grab me again. I jammed it into his eye, then the other, and repeatedly stabbed his face as hard as I could until he went limp. Even then, I don't think I stopped until Gale suddenly appeared and pulled me off him. I suffered from four broken ribs, a fractured arm, cracked elbow and internal bruising. It was a terrible kill, not the worst but a very personal kill for sure." Silence. No one spoke, he only got looks of shock from everyone he could see, even Kakashi.

' _He seems so unfazed by it, worrying'_ thought Friede. Kakashi was along the same train of thought while Sakura, Sasuke and Yukana were more sickened by the act.

"I feel terrible for it though, it doesn't sit well I did that, nor does nearly any kill but I guess I've learned to pass through it. It's part of the job, and everyone has a coping mechanism to help them move on somehow."

"What's yours?" asked Yukana, trying to forget his story.

"A secret!" he said with a smile making her pout.

"No fair!"

"Yes fair! I can keep secrets as long as I please."

"We're close" was all Sasuke said as the large palace came into view. It was quite the sight, but it was a ways off still, at the end of the small merchant like town. A perfect set up to lure the rich into buying severely overpriced items.

"Camera! I need a camera Friede!"

"Why? We own one at home."

"A handheld for Naruto so he can take pictures on his travels! And he needs something to send it too! C'mon!" The woman sighed and walked off as the team escorted the cart through the town rather quickly. They stopped when they reached the gate right as Friede reappeared once more in a shunsin. She handed Naruto a bag, with a small box and a letter before walking up to the gate.

"Princess Yukana is here for the appointed audience of the Fire Daimyo. I am her guard and ward, Friede" said the woman to the two gate guards. One checked a clipboard before signaling the massive doors to open.

"You may enter but the shinobi have no business past this point for the meeting" responded one guard.

Friede turned to Kakashi "I assume you will be at the nearby inn until tomorrow morning to escort us back?" He nodded his head and she smiled.

"Very well, I look forward to seeing you all soon. Rest easy." With that they walked inside and the doors shut once again.

"Let's go try to find an empty room in the inn. It's usually packed" said the jonin, walking diagonally from where he stood down one street with his genin team in tow. They didn't go but a few dozen yards before stepping into a two story wooden structure. It looked as regal as the palace and had nothing but esteemed looking individuals.

"I need a room for four please" said Kakashi.

"Hello, good to see you again Hatake-san. Be glad you made it when you did. We keep a room reserved for a shinobi party until it becomes the last room available. It just became the last one a few moments ago and we'll bill the palace directly as per our instructions for you. Rest well, Hakate-san." The very formal host pulled out a set of keys and handed them to each with the room number 212.

"Follow me" said the jonin, moving through the crowded lobby, going up the stairwell and across to end of the hall. He opened the door and ushered everyone into what was, to them at least, luxury. The beds were large and plush, with gold and red sheets to match the rest of the room's tone and color. It had two bathrooms, one smaller one and another with a large tub.

"Ohhhh yeah I call the tub first!"

"Cha, I'll send you flying for it!" shouted Sakura to Naruto, threating him with a fist. He smirked and dodged her swing and held a foot out, letting her trip on her face before sliding into the bathroom and shutting it.

"You-ugh, damnit Naruto! You cheated!"

"A ninja never cheats, he only finds a new way to win" was the muffled reply before the water turned on and drowned out any conversation they could have had.

"Enjoy some relaxation, I know I haven't let you guys have much back at the village. I'll be reading if you need me." The jonin shed his vet and shirt, leaving him in a high collar sleeveless shirt akin to what many anbu wear and his normal pants before plopping down on the bed closest to the door. They spend the rest of the day relaxing, each one either taking a bath or shower between both bathrooms before going to sleep as the sun began to set.

The next day they prepared at the gate, ready to disembark as soon as the princess arrived. Then waited, and waited….and waited before she finally was ushered out nearly at noon.

"What took so long?" asked Naruto.

"He talks too much" was all Friede's response was. She was very glad to be out, she hated the man and his annoying qualities, just him in general really. Pompous asshole's are some of her least favorite people. The moment they made it out of the small town the window opened and Yukana breathed fresh air, seeing Naruto and Sasuke this time.

"So, what's your deal? How is the last Uchiha doing?" asked Yukana, seeing him twitch a little but he fought the urge because he knew deep down she meant nothing of it. She was merely stating a well known fact as a child would.

"I've been better but nothing I can't handle" said Sasuke.

"OH! OH! Do you have your sharingan?! Can I see?!"

Sasuke shook his head "I don't, I haven't acquired it yet." He was definitely sour about that.

"I'll take a picture and sent it to you once he does" said Naruto, earning a smile from Yukana and a glare from Sasuke. From then on out the trip was uneventful, they took up cam at the same location before heading out once more in the morning. As they neared the village just around noon the next day Friede handed Kakashi a scroll.

"This is where we part ways, Kakashi-kun. There is no need for us to venture inside and we have a long trip home."

"Are you escorting alone back?"

"No, a group is going to meet us a few miles from here. I was alone for this leg because the Daimyo refused my own guard to accompany to his home so we decided hiring ninja here would do just fine. Keep your children in line and try to do the same."

Kakashi smiled under his mask "You do the same and I'm sure we'll meet someday under better circumstances. Goodbye, Friede-chan." She bowed and began to trek around the village wall as his own team entered.

"Looks like we know who Kakashi likes" said Naruto, nudging him making Sakura laugh a little.

"What's that? You want to run fifteen laps around the training ground when we're finished? I was going to let you guys head home but I guess we can do that too."

"NO! He never said that sensei!" shouted Sakura.

"Woah, 20 laps guys!? You really are eager to get back to work. I'll throw in two for free since I'm such a nice guy." Sasuke groaned and Sakura looked ready to kill Naruto who was looking prepared for a quick escape. A hand on his shoulder stopped the blonde's thoughts.

"I was joking, but let's have a final meeting with the hokage before I let you all go home. Remember, we had a lot of breaks so tomorrow we start training and missions bright and early."

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei" drawled out the three in dead unison making him chuckle a little as the made their way back to the office and stood before the board of members.

"How did things go?" asked Hiruzen, taking the payment scroll and handing it off to Iruka.

"Well, just a minor bandit issue but we left two for anbu to pick up. I sent out a message, was it cleared?"

"We sent a group but no one was there so I'm afraid they must have been saved or taken away to be sold under the slave trade. You know how those things are."

"I'm sorry, the what?" asked Sakura, not certain she heard the Third properly.

"The slave trade, something that's been around for, well, as long as many can recall. Poor families who can't afford anything, unfortunate souls lost on the road, high quality ninja without a bounty or home to return to captures by hunter ninja. They get branded by a marking and obedient seal, or a leash of sorts, and auctions off to the highest bidder in small gatherings outside these walls. It is forbidden to do business in any major village but out in a small town, it's common place if you look hard enough on the right day."

"Oh….I've heard it in passing but I thought it was really rare" said Sakura, almost wishing she never spoke up in the first place. Sasuke wasn't very disturbed, it wasn't unheard of to have one inside the Uchiha compound, or the Hyuuga but he never liked or felt the need for one. It was degrading for both sides. Naruto had seen such an event so he wasn't showing any kind of emotion to give a read on his thoughts while Kakashi was…..well Kakashi.

"Besides that, I'm glad things went very well. You all made it out of the bandit attack and seemed none the worse for wear. Consider your first C-rank mission complete. Enjoy the rest of the day but I need you to stay Kakashi." The jonin nodded his head as his genin left in a hurry, making their way from their sensei incase he changed his mind about the running.

"What is it, Hokage-sama?" asked Kakashi, putting away his book.

"Frankly, I want to know how prepared you see Naruto as. Your report left for the anbu spoke of Naruto moving first and taking out the majority of the bandits. Granted, they were barely qualified as ninja but such a level of ferocity at a young age isn't always a good thing."

"There was no ferocity, no bloodlust, that I could see in him as he cut those men down. He moved because he had a job to do and he wanted it over as quickly as possible. His cuts were swift and everyone was meant to kill, not to harm. Efficient, just as a trained ninja would be. Gale taught him well, a little too well for a genin though. I've barely seen any chunin, and a few fresh jonin, struggle to produce such precise and quick results he had then. Even with the two demon brothers, he wasn't able to draw a weapon quickly but he was prepared for evasive action when his teammate barley registered what was happening."

"Hmm, have you pushed him in a spar recently?"

"No, I've been doing general endurance and chakra strength training before missions. I think I'll do a mock battle for each one and see how things really go and report back then.

"Thank you, Gale's report states he knows a lot but he lacks in jutsu mainly. He focused on close fighting and traps for his illusions which I'm not fully sure what he means by that. Enjoy your rest Kakashi, I'll see you tomorrow." Kakashi bowed and disappeared in a burst of smoke as Iruka sighed.

"He's quite a handful" said the chunin.

"Naruto can be but he's a valuable asset, one we need to help grow along with his team. Gale did his part as I asked, it's up to Kakashi now to continue."

X

"You are right, this is pretty good" said Sakura, eating a bowl of ramen next to Sasuke as Naruto downed his third on the other side of the Uchiha.

"How's the bowl?" asked Ayame.

"Wonderful, thank you" said Sakura.

"Hn, good."

"Awesome like always, Ayame! Another!"

"Coming right up!"

"Know how to pace yourself?" asked Shikamaru, walking up from behind with Choji and Ino not far off.

"Hey guys, thought you were doing missions all day?" said Naruto, waiting on his next bowl.

"We are, just about to take lunch at barbeque joint Choji always wants."

"It's the best, you need to try it Naruto" said the round kid, taking a seat on Shikamaru's left as Ino rammed into Sakura from behind which in turn threw her face into the ramen.

"Hey Sasuke! How's it been with the blonde and billboard over here? Miss me yet?" He gave her no response and she was ready to talk again until Sakura delivered a hard backwards headbutt causing her to stumble backwards. Sakura let out her war cry before jumping Ino into the street and beginning their tussle. Sasuke smiled a little, finding it somewhat funny when he saw Ino get busted from behind and he was thankful Naruto didn't point it out.

"Man, it sucks to have her as a teammate" said Choji, watching the fight making Naruto glance back with his pineapple haired friend.

"Yeah, she's not so bad once you tune out her yelling."

"Ino likes to get physical, and make sure you can't drown her out. Maybe drowning her might work." He received a deadpanned look from almost everyone present.

"OK ok, just a thought now, sheesh. Let's go Choji, now I'm getting hungry." Naruto and Sasuke waved them off as Naruto began bowl 5 and Sasuke entered bowl 2. Sakura sat back down, huffing as she fixed her hair and pulled her outfit down a little.

"Did you win?" asked Naruto.

"Of course."

"Good, then I'm off. I do need to train anyway before I can call it a day. See you guys later!" Naruto walked off, leaving Sasuke and Sakura alone with a wad of cash for the bill.

"Just you and me, Sasuke-kun!~"

"Just you." He walked off as well, setting down a tip and heading his own way leaving Sakura high and dry.

"Would you like another bowl miss?" asked Ayame.

*sigh* "Yeah, I guess."

With Naruto

The blonde made it to training ground seven and started to stretch a little, preparing for a light endurance workout before he noticed Sasuke walking up to him.

"What's up?"

"I wanted to ask you a couple things."

Naruto stopped stretching and faced him fully "Sure, go ahead."

"Who trained you to use a sword? I've had an interest and it seems like a good weapon to have instead of just regular utilities."

"Gale was my first teacher but I have another now since Gale is usually traveling. I think she'll be by here in a few hours if you want to wait and see if she'll teach you too."

Sasuke nodded in acceptance "I also wanted to see if you'd spar with me. Just a regular submission match with only taijutsu. I want to see how far I've come along on my own against someone trained in my age like you."

Naruto shrugged "Sure, I'm not anything but decent but I don't mind since I was going to work on cardio today anyway." Naruto jumped back and slid into a stance, Sasuke already moving into his own. Both stayed perfectly still, never moving, eyes locked just before the wind blew and Sasuke disappeared. Moments later Naruto was on the defensive, avoiding a series of strikes from the Uchiha. His taijutsu was strong, viscous and Naruto was fairly surprised. He mentioned he did this alone and his skills were high genin.

However, as Naruto continued to block and evade, he noticed major flaws. Sasuke left himself wide open at times to keep up the pressure and his moves were too slow in some areas. He lacked fluid transitions which really cut his time back. Just as Sasuke saw Naruto duck and he planned for a follow up knee a fist drove into his ribs. The shock made him step back before a kick to the chest sent him sprawling on the ground a few yards back. He didn't have time to recover, only to roll backwards when a brutal ax kick descended where his head used to be.

Once the Uchiha was back on his feet he was ready for the incoming blows, keeping time with each hit but as it continued a few began to graze their intended target. The speed of the blows was one thing but his cloak sometimes made it hard when he switched from hands to feet, or vice versa. He'd mix up his attacks and confuse him with fast feints before landing a uppercut to the chin. Right as he felt his world shake he was pinned on his chest, arms locked behind and Naruto sitting on top.

"I give" was the muffled sound of Sasuke under Naruto. He felt himself loosen before getting hoisted up by the Uzumaki.

"You are really good for someone without a teacher, and a sharingan. If you ask Kakashi for pointers you'd be golden and once you get that sharingan I'd have to really get down and dirty to win." Sasuke brushed off the anger and smiled a little. It had been…..years since he had a good spar and finding someone on his own team he got along with decently made him feel much better than he had in a while.

"Thanks, you have some serious speed and you do good with those feints. I get the cloak now, it really throws someone off when you use taijutsu but I do what to know. How much did you hold back just now?"

Naruto tapped his chin then snapped "Not much really, just a bit of speed and my own jutsu. Like I said, my taijutsu isn't amazing but I make due with what I have now. Ninja don't play dirty, they play to win."

"Even in a friendly spar, Naruto-kun?" said Yugao, suddenly appearing behind him. The Uzumaki smiled and turned to her, taking a sparring glance at the surprised Uchiha seeing a woman dressed in civilian garb appear out of nowhere like Kakashi tended to do.

"Hey, Yu-chan. I got a friend today who wanted to know if you could teach him kenjutsu. Sasuke, this is Yugao, Yugao, Sasuke." The two shook hands, bowing their heads briefly before she spoke.

"I can spare some time to get him started with a clone while polish your own work. Does that sound alright?"

"That's fine, what's the schedule normally?"

"Every day I'm free, for about four hours each session, usually Wednesdays and Sundays. I know my schedule mostly each week but if changes are made I'll let you know in a timely manner. I will leave you with a training set to do when we aren't here so you can work alone, or together."

"Hn, thank you. Is there a charge or something?"

"No, I have some extra time and I enjoy teaching little Naruto here when I can."

"I'm not little anymore!"

Yugao leaned over to face him eye level "Still short to me, little Naru-chan." Sasuke could see Naruto's face saying it all and smiled a little. He really was enjoying this more than he expected to. She stood back up and pulled out a sword identical to her own tanto on her back and handed it to Sasuke

"Walk to the other end and I'll make a clone to start on the basics while we spar here."

X

Next day, morning

Sasuke was sore, much more than normal after a training session. Yugao wasn't that hard on him but working these new muscles and learning different grips, kata's and such made one tired. It added on that they trained till the sun went down that day, leaving him just enough time to eat, shower and get to bed. Naruto looked energetic as always, ready for anything as they waited at the training ground for Kakashi. Sakura was unsurprisingly reading a book once more on medical knowledge that Naruto chose to comment on.

"Are you going to actually do medical stuff or just wrap wounds?"

"Fall out of the tree your sitting in and find out."

"Ehhhhh no thanks, maybe another time."

"Thought so" said the girl, glaring bloody daggers at him before stealing a blushed glance to her crush and going back to her book. Even before she started reading again a hand rested on her head and she knew it instantly to be Kakashi.

"Glad to see my cute little genin once again."

"What's the deal for today?" asked Naruto, jumping down as Sasuke stood and walked up as well.

"Well, I want two of you to start with some regular tree walking exercise that we've been doing while another spars with me. I want to test your individual skills and see how everyone ranks. I'll be doing it in private inside the forest here so you all have plenty of room to move. Sakura is up first, get to training!" With that Kakashi walked off with the pink haired girl, leaving Naruto and Sasuke alone. They looked at one another then nodded before racing up the tree and back down.

X

Kakashi let out a soft sigh, expected little from Sakura as she showed but it was better than he thought. She was quick to react, good with her utilities but her taijutsu and jutsu library needed to be improved, medic ninja or not. He left her with a clone at the other side of the grounds while another told Naruto to come after him. So he waited there, book in hand, resting against the trunk of a tree on its branch nearly three stories up. He never looked up as Naruto landed across from him, his cloak no longer on him.

"So, I guess this is a serious fight then? Don't hold back a bit? For me anyway" said Naruto, ending with a smile and Kakashi nodded his head as he put his book away. He had a feeling he wouldn't get time to read it with him.

"Just start when your ready." Naruto nodded then charged forward, jumping up with a high punch.

' _Hmm, this might be quite a let down if he's this forward through everything.'_ Kakashi brought a hand up to block but was surprised when the clone suddenly faded through him and a moment later he ducked to avoid the sudden fly by kick of another Naruto. His clone disappeared as it faded through Kakashi and Naruto slammed onto a tree across from his sensei.

"That wasn't a regular clone, it wouldn't have felt so real before it hit. This is your illusions then, quite interesting. I've met someone like you during the last war, she was well in tune with Bishamon and her use with a spear was deadly. Her strength was crazy as well, saw her take on men three times her size with a massive shield in her other hand. What's your blessing from?"

"Tsukuyomi, the moon goddess and the goddess of illusion. Did you keep in contact with her? I'd like to speak to her if possible."

Kakashi shook his head "No, she died during the war fighting the previous Mizukage. If I hear of another I'll do my best to send them your way. Now, I think we've talked enough?"

Naruto smiled "We have, actually." Then his form disappeared just as the other did before could hear multiple seals with a few meters of him sizzling and his lone eye widened just as the explosions ripped through part of where he stood. As wood burned and the limbs still intact began to crumble Kakashi reappeared a few dozen yards away.

"He faked me with that to cover himself in one to plant seals. I can't sense most of them without my sharingan so I'm at a disadvantage since I'll never know if it's really him." In that moment Naruto suddenly materialized in front of him with a hard right hook but the jonin had the superior speed and reflexes, easily bringing up his arm to block it. It went through again and Kakashi immediately scanned around for the next target but was surprised when he felt a solid punch in the jaw from the blow he blocked. Looking back he saw the blonde smiling as he noticed two hands now were in play. One that had faded through his arm and another outstretched from the recent hit.

"So you can feint blows as well. Very handy" said Kakashi before kicking him square in the gut and into the charred hole he'd just created. This time Kakashi followed suit, keeping an eye on the real one and falling down to the ground with him. As soon as Naruto saw Kakashi land he took off, charging once more, this time with a kick. Kakashi blocked with his left the brought up his right to stop the second one.

"An easy solution" said Kakashi and Naruto smiled.

"Is it?" was all he got before a blast of wind tore the two through the woods and he saw the blonde fade away just as a clone would.

"My clones can be hit but I can't make more than one at a time like that. Limits the usage there" said three Naruto's in unison, walking out from other trees. Ah, a trap was laid. He was pretty good but suddenly they went wide eyed before dispersing into nothing. Then another dropped from above, tanto in one hand and the other clutched his head.

"Guess I reached my limit after using my special clone" said Naruto, letting go of his head and bringing his blade back around.

"You use chakra it?" Naruto only shook his head before running at him again. This time, they traded all solid blows. Kakashi was pleased, the blonde showed to be well versed in combat and he was confident the boy could take down a chunin level opponent alone. That was until he was nearly stabbed when a second sword appeared from one that faded and moved to his chest. The former anbu pulled his other hand up, using the metal plating on his glove to deflect the blade but he only passed through it as well. The final strike went home, moving past his vest and digging into his chest. A split second later Naruto was slammed to the ground and pinned under the jonin in a perfect hold.

"Ok ok, I give!" Kakashi let up and helped up the blonde, patting him on the shoulder as he did.

"Well done! You were surprising but you used too many tricks off the bat. You should have used more jutsu in the beginning, traded more regular blows before showing off all you had and using that trap. Remember, you need to know your limit before doing something like that. Let Sasuke know he's welcome to start once you come back." Naruto nodded and sheathed his sword, taking his trek back to where his team was. A moment later, a cat masked anbu appeared.

"He certainly knows how to use those illusions with his taijutsu and that makes him really deadly but he lacks much planning in his attack points. He knew he couldn't best me in combat and tired to get a better feel with the clones then sent a trump card at him to lure me into a trap that failed from exhaustion. If he'd fired off some more jutsu like the wind one, or even set more explosive tags during the fight before the trap I might have had a little trouble keeping up with it all" said Kakashi.

"He only just got to using more jutsu recently and they aren't centered well for mid-range combat, only close and personal. He knew that and held them off since he assumed it wouldn't do him any good against a jonin while his illusions would. He held back on his kenjutsu though, he's much better than that. I think he got the gist of this sparring session and didn't want to tell everyone all he could do. Gale said he was stubborn and liked to do things on his own time, he certainly was right. I'll inform the hokage of what I know and what was seen today in detail. I'll see you later, senpai." With that, the anbu disappeared and he could sense Sasuke on his way. Kakashi sighed again, lifting his shirt to bandage his wound quickly. He'd need to get it wrapped before they went on their missions later in the day.

X

"Excuse me? What did you just call me?" asked Naruto, his eyes narrowing. Sakura was already ready to kill, being called pink brat made her see red and Naruto heard flashlight before his head spun around. Sasuke kept his focus on the hokage, trying to ignore the duck ass hair comment from the elderly drunk.

"It's an easy mission guys. It's been a week since you had an escort mission outside the walls and you proved then you can handle it. This is a little farther than before but it's nearly the same mission. You have to escort him there and protect him while the bridge is being built. Once it's done, return here" said Iruka.

"Can we get a better bridge builder?" asked Naruto making the older man shout.

"I'm the best there is, brat! I'll see you at the gate, I can't stand this anymore." As the bridge builder walked out Naruto and Sakura felt a slap on the back of their heads from Kakashi.

"Don't treat him like that, he's a client and income for the village. Deal with it until the job is over because we are going."

"Ugh, whatever" said Naruto, sulking a little as he walked out with his team. They regrouped in an hour at the front, packed and ready for the trip as Sakura finally arrived. She seemed more prepared than usual, sporting a larger backpack.

"I brought some medical supplies this time, it might come in handy all the way out there."

"Good job! That's the way to think Sakura!" said Kakashi, giving her an approving thumbs up with an eye smile. She blushed a little under the praise and looked to Sasuke who nodded, only strengthening her blush while Naruto's own little thumbs up made her feel even better. Her whole team supported her decision and endeavor to be a better member and focus on what she knew she could excel at.

"Move out guys, loosing daylight as it is. We have at least a two day travel before we make it there" said Kakashi, letting the team set their own set up as he took rear point with Tazuna close for conversation. Naruto opted to be in front while Sakura flanked left and Sasuke took right of the bridge builder. It was a hot day for the starting point, the sun was beating down and there wasn't much cloud coverage but Kakashi felt off here. The entire situation seemed odd to him, even though the bridge would cause some money to be lost from Mizu there wasn't a reason for him to be attacked in such a manner. Wave could become a large port town and strengthen the entire area for both villages, including some trade for Suna. Where was the loss? Who was so affected he was paying for armed guard? He got his response when two chakra signatures rose from behind that he knew all too well.

' _Hmm, I'll let my team handle this alone and see how things go. If it gets ugly I'll step in.'_ Just as he finished a coil of jagged chains wrapped around him before it tore his body apart in a blood shower.

"One down" said one twin.

"Three kids left" responded the other before he jumped back to avoid a hail of kunai.

"Oh hey! It's these two!" shouted Naruto before the one who spoke first felt a blade pierce his metal gauntlet. He looked up to see a black tanto sticking out of his arm and a smiling blonde in front of him materialized.

"Illusions a bitch, huh?"

"Gozu!" Mezu spun his head around to see his brother fall, wrapped in ninja wire and surrounded by both the black haired kid and half a dozen of the blonde in front of him.

He turned his head back to the one in front of him "W-who are you?"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, your executioner." He ripped the blade out, making Mezu yelp in pain as ninja wire from the Uchiha wrapped around him and the tanto was sent towards his throat then…..then black. Naruto frowned, almost looking like he was pouting when Kakashi took his target away and wrapped the two together to a tree.

"That wasn't very nice, sensei. They got away last time and I wanted to make sure it didn't happen again."

"It won't" said Kakashi as an anbu appeared, picking up the ninja and disappearing in a swirl of leaves. Kakashi had called a pick up from a nearby patrol so this didn't become a reoccurring issue.

"Why'd you hide sensei?! What if we didn't stop them?" asked Sakura, more concerned it was going to happen more often.

"I had a sinking feeling we were being mislead here so I put good faith in you three and watched to see what they were after. The one Sasuke took down was prepared to charge at our friend here before Sasuke intercepted with Naruto's clones. Let me have a private conversation with him. Naruto, you need to get your arm looked at." The blonde seemed surprised then looked down, seeing three deep claw marks going up the length of his arm. They were already beginning to heal but before he could protest Sakura was already on the case. She pulled up a sterilized wipe and cleaned the wound quickly then wrapped it up with some gauze.

"Thanks Sakura, that was pretty quick."

She smiled as she packed her stuff back up "I took some lessons from the medics at the hospital over the weekend. I go every so often to learn what I can since they offer a class for field medic training. I'm picking up stuff quick so hopefully within a month I can heal with chakra, at least minor wounds anyway."

"That'd be handy, good idea" said Sasuke and she instantly swooned over him.

"You could be my first patient Sasuke-kun! We could play doctor with you as my patient!"

"Does that mean you'd have to wound him first beforehand?" asked Naruto, adopting a thinking pose and noticing both the glare from Sakura and the small chuckle from Sasuke.

"OK OK, don't go at each other just minutes after I leave you alone" said the scarecrow like jonin, walking back with a distraught Tazuna.

"What's the deal, sensei? Is there something going on?" asked Sakura. Kakashi nudged the bridge builder who looked to him then sighed.

"I didn't really say all the truth about the mission details. I am….being hunted by Gato, a very rich and powerful business man who is known for underhanded deals and black market ties. He doesn't want to see us build the bridge so he can continue to abuse our small town with his own ships and keep everything under wraps about his illegal trades. I couldn't afford an A-rank mission pay so I just said it was regular bandits after myself and my men for our equipment. I apologize, I really do. I meant no harm to you, or your sensei but this was the only way to ensure my village is free from his hold. Please. I beg of you! Just a week's time and I'll be done! I just need you to hold off these men for a week! Ill pay you all back as soon as I have the money again!"

"I don't like it when people lie, Tazuna-san" said Naruto with a cold look, mirrored by Sasuke but Sakura seemed a little more concerned for him. That was until the blonde stepped forward and sighed.

"But I don't like leaving old men to die either. I'm in to help if you guys are."

"Sure, something to do, I guess" said Sasuke, hiding a smile. He approved of the blondes choice and Sakura's nod of her head had meant she did too. Kakashi looked around, seeing everyone was in a mutual agreement of what was happening.

"So be it then, team seven is continuing with the mission. Let's get moving then, we still have plenty of ground to cover."

"Yes, sensei!"

 **We'll end it here. Wave arc is up next and I'm excited for it. Sasuke and Sakura are shown as a lot more cooperative in here since I changed a few dynamics of the team. One being how Sasuke see's Naruto from his advice given and Kakashi's attitude/effort put into the team. He's more in tune to training them and with Naruto already shown to give Sasuke advice he saw the blonde as a good way to get stronger. He may not be fully inclined to kill Itachi but he still needed to be near his level to stand up to him. Sakura knows she's weak, and can't fight in a front line scenario, so in her training each day she focuses on endurance to continue moving without tiring out and medical knowledge for a vast array of skills. This is a double-edged sword though, she isn't getting stronger to fight but to act as support and heal. In essence, they know their own weakness and strengths and are working to improve where it benefits the team. Naruto is training with his close combat and added jutsu, Sasuke is learning to use a sword and work on new fire jutsu as Sakura I already stated her improvements.**

 **I thought long and hard on this and realized that with Kakashi alone supporting them all the team dynamic would have changed quite a bit. He trained them all as he saw fit and nudged them to the right direction. They work with one another knowing their team is all they have and keep focusing to get stronger and keep good teamwork. They have a C-rank mission under their belt but this one is going to be a totally different showdown than the last. You'll see how far everyone is from cannon in the next chapter. I promised no god like, or super strong characters starting off and you'll get just that. Hard working, determined kids and a jonin that actually puts some effort into being a sensei.**

 **I hope everyone enjoyed the last few chapters and I hope the blessings are somewhat interesting. I've kept them mostly hidden, some are still hidden, and I haven't written much to keep them a secret but next chapter you'll see some expansion on the whole picture. How it works, what allows it to be created and how Naruto got to the point he's at now. Thanks for the read guys and I'll be seeing you all in a few weeks or so! Hopefull…..hehe**


End file.
